


A Voice from the Past

by Archijenn



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 75,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2097720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archijenn/pseuds/Archijenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Abbott's team is called in to help Austin PD on a case involving drug trafficking and assaults on women, Jane and Lisbon are tested and they have to rely on their greatest strength-- their love.  </p><p>Post Season 6 and my idea for Season 7  </p><p>COMPLETE</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I have no claim of ownership to the characters in The Mentalist, but a girl can dream...

Prologue

"He's going to panic. He's going to shut down for a while. He's not going to cope-- but then he will. He WILL figure this out." Teresa Lisbon has worked through all the scenarios. She's had plenty of time. After they had drugged her and kidnapped her, they had left her alone tied to a chair in a very dark room. Yes, she's had the time to figure out who has her and what's happening. She was just not sure how long she had been missing-- or how much time she still had.

"And, oh please, my love, find me before this all goes too far," she whispered through the darkness. 

 

Chapter 1

Six months had passed since Jane had stopped her from going to Washington, D.C. and marrying Agent Pike. ["The Anti-Jane", as her friend and former colleague, Grace called him.] Well, to be completely honest, he didn’t STOP her. He just FINALLY told her how he felt. It was always her choice. However, once she knew that he loved her there was no way she could go to D.C. -- not when there was a real chance at happiness. 

Nevertheless, it hadn’t been easy. Nothing involving Patrick Jane had ever been easy so no surprise there. First, there was the phone call to Marcus explaining her change of heart, or more to the point, the acknowledgement that her heart had never been his but always Jane’s. Initially, Teresa thought that his anger and upset were because he was heartbroken but the longer he ranted at her, she realized he was more worried about the potential embarrassment to his reputation and being grist for the office gossip mill. At that moment, she couldn’t help comparing him to Jane who had risked jail and public humiliation for her without thinking twice about it. Pike’s attitude freed her from her guilt. Cutting into his rant that questioned her sanity, morals, and intelligence she finally said, “Marcus, I’m going to pretend I never heard any of this because it’s just making you sound like an angry fifteen year old. Was it wrong to agree to go to DC with you when I knew I loved Jane? Yes. Did I make it worse by accepting your proposal? Absolutely. You don’t have to believe me, but I never set out to have all this happen. However, it did and maybe you should be grateful that it occurred now and not later. I’m hanging up now before you say anything else that will make you look like the lesser man. Take care.” 

Just as difficult was the next obstruction because they had to deal with TSA’s charges resulting from Jane’s illegal boarding of the plane where he made his grand confession. It took a lot of persuasion and contrition to get the charges reduced to time-served and community service-- plus, an agreement never to fly in or out of the Miami airport. 

The third hurdle was learning to be in a relationship. When two people have a history of bad relationships or relationships that ended tragically, it takes many walks and a lot of coffee and tea to work through what each wants. Lisbon flashed back to the night five months ago, when they talked the entire night until both were completely hoarse about things that they never imagined the other thought. “I would have thought that you…” “But you don’t really think that would ever have…” led to “I always did…”, “I always have…” and “I always will…” In between the conversations in those first few weeks had been a lot of hand holding, gentle kisses, and a great deal of nestling until finally Jane sat down, pulled a keepsakes box from the cabinet, took the well-worn and deeply loved gold band from his left hand, and placed it inside. He didn’t need the ring to remind him that he had known love and now had a second chance with a woman who was strong enough to face his demons with him and stronger, too, to embrace his past and his memories and include them in their love. 

The hurdles that followed were sometimes quirky, sometimes frustrating, but between the two of them, they managed to jump over all of them. The first time she cried out, “Patrick!” in ecstasy but the next day continued to call him Jane at the office confused him until he realized that this was her way of respecting him as her colleague and also keeping their relationship theirs-- or as much as a relationship can be kept private when it starts so publicly. 

Oh, and that first night? Even in her current dire circumstances, Teresa had to smile just thinking about it. They hadn’t planned on THAT night being their first time together. It was a Tuesday evening and Jane had asked her out to dinner at a diner nearby. After they ate, the couple walked back to the parking lot where she picked up her car and drove him over to the campgrounds where he kept the Airstream when not using to get to a remote case. He asked her in to continue the conversation they were having and, well, the next thing they knew she had banged her head a few times on the wall of the camper behind the bed and he had bruised shins from the spot where the mattress didn’t quite meet the frame. It didn’t take long and only the discomforts, like her fear of a possible concussion and his of knee replacement, and later their laughter made it “memorable.” 

No, it was that second time that would forever make Teresa’s toes curl. That night started special with a beautiful dinner at her apartment followed with dancing on the patio before she took his hand and without saying a word, led him to the bedroom where they slowly and gently undressed each other and made love. His strength tempered with soft touches had given her the assurance to touch and caress him in a way of laying claim not to just his heart but to his very soul. That first night of many saw her cry out his name while he sigh hers. 

Oh, that’s not to say that there were no more arguments. Teresa could safely say that very few days-- probably less than a handful-- did NOT contain a moment when she thought about shooting him. He was still the smartest guy in the room and knew it. He was still acting on impulse and she would have to wing it along with him. He still got her into trouble with their boss and he still was the best at closing cases she had ever seen. That last fact was only one of the things that made him redeemable as a partner. He tolerates no fools or liars but he does protect the foolish and the innocent. There was no one she trusted more to do the right thing. There was no one she trusted more with her heart, her life, her soul. 

Teresa shifted and felt the restraints. If she was going to get the chance to see her beloved’s face again, she was going to have to get out of this. 

“Patrick, don’t give up on me-- on us,” she whispers. “Keep working that wonderful brain.” 

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Patrick Jane, a man known for solving the most complicated puzzles and creating ones even more confusing, looked around at the controlled responses of the FBI agents and tried to understand what was happening. If he stepped outside himself, he could see it clearly. Abbott’s team, of which Jane supposed he was a member (although Patrick Jane was definitely not a team player), was putting together a plan and assigning tasks; routine and organization being the hallmark of the unit. 

Normally, Jane would applaud their rote and quietly do what he needed to do to solve the case without causing too much upheaval-- at least from his perspective. However, this wasn’t normal and he wasn’t normal. He was in full panic and he wanted to shout at them to work harder, faster, bigger. He was desperate. It was a feeling he had known before but never with this much frantic overtone. Years ago, when his wife Angela and daughter Charlotte were killed at the hands of Red John, he was the one who found their bodies. He could still remember walking into the house thinking that it was just another evening when suddenly his world came crashing down around him. He couldn’t go through that again. He couldn’t sit there and wait for it to happen. Yet that was what Abbott seemed to be telling him he had to do. Who was the crazy one here anyway? 

But Jane reminded himself that just like the agents, he had to maintain some control. If he was to find her (and he told himself he would find her), he needed to keep his wits about him. 

“Breathe deep,” he reminded himself, “You have to focus. So far, she’s just-- missing.” 

He looked at the case board and carefully went from one note to the next and one picture to the next. “What are the facts trying to tell me?” 

***************************************************************************************************************************************************


	2. 10 days earlier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have no ownership claims.

Chapter 2 -- 10 days earlier

It was an overcast morning when Teresa joined Patrick in the kitchen of the spacious apartment they rented. Both agreed that they had not yet taken the time to get to know Austin well enough to buy a place and the only other option was his Airstream, which, while she acknowledged its comforts for travel to regional cases or the occasional getaway to a state park, was not an ideal permanent address for them. When she thought she would be moving to DC she had paid the penalty to break the lease and the landlord had found a new tenant which was fine because it was not much bigger in storage space than the Airstream. They ended up finding an airy two bedroom unit with plenty of space -- “to play,” as Patrick would say with a theatrical waggle of the eyebrow. 

She had showered and dressed for the day after Patrick had kissed her from sleep and was now craving coffee and more time with her tormentor-- the order of those was optional. Patrick was sitting at the breakfast bar having his morning tea and reading the paper when arms came around him and teeth started nibbling at his ear. Chuckling he said, “Hungry this morning, love?” 

“Mmm! Very and for a number of things,” she responded while whispering in his ear. 

Patrick turned on the stool, put his arms around her, and gave her a warm kiss before they both sighed. “Yes, but if you’re determined that we should work for a living, I’m not sure how you’ll get everything you want-- right now.” 

With one final squeeze, she reluctantly walked around the breakfast bar and poured herself a cup of coffee. “As long as I have a promise of tonight, I’ll sacrifice the morning,” Teresa teased in her best-martyred tone. 

They both made quick work of the newspaper and their breakfasts before Teresa filled her travel mug with the last of the coffee, grabbed her messenger bag containing the files they had read the night before, while Patrick folded the paper into his pocket. At some point during the day, he was sure he could find a moment to finish working the crossword and Sudoku. 

The couple arrived at work with the announcement that Team Leader Special Agent Dennis Abbott had a new case briefing starting, “as soon as Lisbon and Jane can tear themselves away from their argument over radio stations.” 

“Jazz, jazz, jazz! I love jazz but I also love other music, too. I just don’t see why we can’t listen to other music once in a while,” Teresa continued to argue. 

“I didn’t say we couldn’t listen to other music-- occasionally. But you have to admit it was good,” Patrick countered.

“Or NPR? I would settle for NPR,” she proposed as she takes a seat.

“Fine,” he muttered as he sat down next to her and glanced at Abbott who was standing in front of the team watching in complete stunned silence as the two bickered. 

Realizing that everyone is watching and listening to them, the two music aficionados muttered, “Sorry,” and went silent. 

“Oookay then,” Abbott said, “Now that we have an agreement on one of the great debates of our time, let’s get started.” 

Abbott started the PowerPoint presentation and began the briefing. “In the last three months there has been a large upswing in drug sales and crimes against women in the greater Austin area. The local PD has attempted multiple stings and undercover operations but nothing has worked. Every time the narcotics unit goes in, the places are completely clean.”

Agent Cho, sitting in front of Jane and Lisbon, asked, “How many is a ‘multiple?’”

“Five.”

“Sounds like there’s a leak in the department,” Cho said. 

“That’s why the Chief of Detectives met me for lunch in Dallas last week. He wanted to work on getting outside help to break up the drug ring and then he’ll be able to find out who’s dirty in his department.” 

Frowning slightly, Lisbon asked, “But you said it was drugs AND crimes against women. Are they related?” 

Abbott looked at the sharp agent and slowly nodded. “We think so but there’s nothing concrete.” Turning to everyone, he continued, “The women reporting rapes and assaults in that area have told the same basic story. They have no memory of events surrounding their attacks, but tracing their movements they were all in the same club where we are confident the drug deals are being made. The few that reported the attacks quickly enough show a cocktail of date-rape drugs in their systems. These drugs, along with the usual heroin, coke, oxy, etc., are exploding all over the club district but seem to be coming from one central location.”

He clicked to the next slide showing a brick two-story building with a parking lot next door. The place had a slightly rundown appearance, as if it had seen its best years a generation ago. “This is the Noted Lady. It’s a club not quite at the end of the 6th Street District but located in a quieter area.” Clicking the slide, he shows it at night with the parking lot half-filled and the marquee lights on with the exception of three bulbs, enforcing its somewhat tired appearance. “It’s owned by a man named George Calhoun who used to play piano at the club until two years ago. According to public records, he bought the place for $500,000 from the previous owner who has retired to Boca Raton.” 

“A half million for that?” Jane scoffed. “It wasn’t exactly a buyers’ market.”

Chuckling, Abbott had to agree. “We believe that Calhoun received a bit of under the table help here, but it’s nothing we can prove. He told the bank handling the closing that a relative had died and he had inherited, plus he had an offshore account where he said he had been squirreling away money for years. Obviously, the most likely scenario is that he laundered money for someone and has now agreed to a complete lack of vision when seeing any illegal activities.” 

“Any known associates with the mob, gang, or local drug dealers?” Cho asked. 

Agent Fischer turned from her seat in the front row and answered, “I’ve run every check I could on the guy but nothing shows up. He’s super clean-- too clean. No one who has worked in that many seedy dives over the years can be as untouched as this guy appears.” 

Abbott nodded in agreement, “The other interesting part is that this is a classic piano bar and the clientele is older than most of those in the club scene. It’s just quieter. Perhaps that’s allowing the perps to blend in? I’m just not sure.” 

“So what’s the plan?” Cho asked. 

Abbott clicked another slide in the PowerPoint. “Directly across the street from the Noted Lady is a small bar that has been closed for a few years for selling liquor to minors one too many times. The ATF has ‘loaned’ it to us and it will appear to be undergoing a renovation. We will be able to stake out our tactical command from there with the added benefit of a portable unit inside a plumbing van. That’s phase one.” Abbott addressed the tactical members of the team, “Many of you will be seen going in and out of the bar as trades’ people -- electricians, carpenters, plumbers, etc. We will also have two people inside working at the Noted Lady with a variety of people coming in and out randomly as ‘customers.’” 

Cho leaned forward, “I’ve worked as a bartender and I could do it again.” 

Lisbon volunteered, “I can wait tables.” 

Abbott smiled and nodded to Fischer who started passing out folders. “Here are your assignments for this. If you have any questions, just ask.” 

Fischer ended with Jane and Lisbon. She gave a file to Jane and returned to her seat without giving a folder Lisbon. “Uh, boss, I don’t have a profile,” Lisbon said in a confused voice as she tried to look at Jane’s thinking that someone had put hers with his. 

Jane started reading the scenario, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped slightly. He looked at Abbott with a strange mix of curiosity, shock, and amusement. He read it to himself again: Customer and boyfriend of recently hired club singer, Terri Lipton / Also, moral support for the agent assigned to the role of the singer. Looking at the love of his life he said, “In the future, when you are complaining about one of my schemes or cons, as you call them, I will remind you of this very moment.” 

Lisbon looked from Jane to Abbott with a complete lack of comprehension. Abbott sighed acknowledging that this was the portion of the briefing and planning when things had the potential to get a bit ugly. “When we were looking into the possibility of covers we quickly realized that a new bartender or waitress wouldn’t work.” Looking at Cho he continued, “These are the type of new employees that they expect law enforcement to infiltrate and they’re very careful around them. We need an edge and we realized that potential a few weeks ago when the entertainers who had worked there for the last 3 months decided to leave and go on tour. Since then, Calhoun has been looking for new talent and not having much luck. He wants a lot for a little.”

Abbott stopped and gave an evil grin at Jane, “Actually, Jane, I would like to think that I was somewhat inspired by your methods to come up with this.”

Jane raised both hands to ward off the compliment, “Oh no, please, I want it known I had NOTHING to do with this.” 

Lisbon was starting to feel a bit nervous but still didn’t quite understand where this was going. Did Abbott want Jane to be the entertainment? Maybe put on a psychic show? He’d done it before so there was no problem there. “Jane, what’s the big deal? So you do some readings. You’ll be careful not to hurt anyone, right?” 

Jane just stared at her, not sure what to say. Finally, Abbott stepped in. “Agent Lisbon, it’s not Jane that will going undercover as an entertainer. I will be taking the assignment--”

“Oh. Sorry. I’m sure you’ll be great, but I don’t understand… why… I don’t have…” suddenly she was starting to put it together. She stared at Abbott as Jane looked at her with concern. 

Abbott continued as if he hadn’t heard the interruption “--and be performing on piano accompanying torch singer Terri Lipton-- played by you, Agent Teresa Lisbon.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no owner-ship, just Jisbon-ship.

To outward appearances, Lisbon seemed in shock and completely unmoving. In her head, she was screaming, running, and feeling as if a plane, train, and bus were all crashing into her at once. 

“Wha-- Wha-- What? I-I-I-- You want me to-- um-- WHAT?!?” Coherent speech seemed to be a long lost artform for her at the moment. 

Jane looked concerned when she went white but as the color came back in her face and she started to turn pink, he swallowed the comforting words and decided to let their boss and his partner work this out. For once, not being the instigator of one of these plans but just a very interested bystander was going to pay off. 

Abbott tried again to explain the plan. “You and I are going into the club as entertainers. We’ve, well, rigged Calhoun’s search for a new act so that he’s taking us sight unseen. If all goes well, we’ll be done in a few hours and we can get what Austin PD needs.” 

Lisbon refused to process what he said. “NO! I can’t do this!” 

Abbott, again, waved away her objections. “Sure you can. It won’t be that bad. I played with a band when I was working in DC and I still play at home and church.”

Continuing to shake her head, Lisbon said, “That’s great for you. And if you want to play in the club, I’m sure it will work out okay, but I can’t do this.” 

Abbott sighed once more. “Lisbon, the name of the bar is the Noted Lady, not the Noted Bald Black Guy. This place is known for having torch singers with sultry voices.”

Jane watched the exchange and became intrigued by what it was that Abbott and Lisbon weren’t saying. He had an idea, but he doubted that Lisbon understood just how badly she was losing. He knew Teresa sang in the shower and hummed a lot throughout the day. She had a pleasant voice and he wanted to hear it with his last breath on earth, however, he also knew that he had never heard her truly and intentionally perform a song. Although, now that he thought about it, he had wondered ever since she had started to sing “Kansas City” during a case back in California, if perhaps she wanted to sing. 

“I’m not a singer. I’m a federal officer. I can’t do it.” 

Abbott hadn’t wanted to do this but he had no choice. “That’s not true and you know it.”

Suddenly, Lisbon’s look of fear turned to one of alarm. She glanced at Jane but saw that he was looking at both of them in confusion. What did Abbott know? “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted. 

Abbott breathed deeply, “Fine, if this is how you really want it,” he said as he clicked away from his PowerPoint and brought up a piece of video. 

Jane squinted at the screen. It was obviously amateur and probably unauthorized video from a cellphone. He could see a brunette sitting on a stool next to a piano on the other side of a bar that he recognized from his days in Sacramento. She looked a little sad as she held a microphone and sang, “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good.” The voice wasn’t bad, but it was the pained soul that really spoke to people. The screen changed and the same brunette was seen in another bar by another piano. This time she appeared to be older than the first video. She was sing Carole King’s “So Far Away,” and again the voice was matched by the soul giving the performance a sweet quality. 

Everyone in the briefing area had stopped what they were doing to watch. When the clip ended, all turned to look at the petite woman with elbows resting on her knees and her hands covering her face in embarrassment. “How did you get that?” 

It took a great deal to surprise Patrick Jane so he mentally logged this date because he had no idea that his lover was hiding this secret. From outside his body, he realized he wasn’t angry that she had not let on that she could sing. He could tell from what he saw onscreen that this was a form of emotional release for her and very personal. Knowing his Teresa, at some point he would have found out. This just made it happen much, much faster. 

Abbott turned from the screen. “Because of the nature of the investigations that we were running on your CBI team prior to Red John’s death and after it, you should never have assumed that we didn’t have constant surveillance on you whenever you left your home or office.” 

He knew he had shocked her and he also thought that she was probably feeling a bit betrayed right now. However, it was his job to see the big picture and make sure that they could complete the assignment successfully. No one else in the division had her skill set for this job. It rested on her small shoulders. 

After a pause long, Lisbon looked up at her boss, “I see. So you’ve been holding on to this until just the right time to embarrass me. Nice, chief.” 

Abbott came to her, sat down in front of her and said quietly, “Teresa, I didn’t do this to hurt you or upset you. I had completely forgotten about this until I was working on putting this mission together. However, when I looked at all the possible options I decided that this was the best one.” 

It was Lisbon’s turn to take a deep breath. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, trying to keep a calm demeanor at least on the outside. “Well, you’ll have to think of something else, because I cannot do it. It’s not possible.” 

“Why? Has something happened to your throat?” Abbott knew the answer but he also knew he had to get to the bottom of this extreme reluctance and get her moving, no matter how unwillingly. 

“You know I haven’t injured my throat,” she replied. “It’s just that I can’t do it.” 

Abbott shook his head. “That’s not an answer. That’s a position and it’s not acceptable.” 

Jane saw that she was struggling and frightened. Quietly so no one but the three of them would hear, he said, “Sweetheart, you obviously have a good voice. Why don’t you want to use it?” 

Lisbon looked up at Jane who she could tell was trying to find the best solution for everyone, and her boss who was trying to maintain what he thought was a great plan. “I’m assuming that at some point there may be a need for me to testify to what I saw during this operation, right?” 

Abbott slowly nodded his head, trying to see where she was headed. “While it’s not a strong chance, there is a slight one that we would need you on the stand. What does that have to do with the singing?”

Folding her arms across her chest to ward off any more suggestions, she answered, “If I do this, you’re not going to be able to use me on the stand.”

Abbott was getting tired of arguing with her and as he recalled he was still her boss. “Look, what’s the problem. Just spit it out and we’ll deal with it.” 

She glared at him and responded, “Fine. Apparently, your surveillance failed to note one very important thing: I’ve never performed in front of an audience without drinking!” 

“Oh,” This did give Abbott a bit of pause. He didn’t want to have an agent completely blotto on duty, but he didn’t want to try and change the cover he had put together; it was just too perfect. 

Jane saw the way the team leader’s thoughts were going and while he didn’t care about the team, he did care about the emotional health of the woman sitting near him. “Have you ever tried to sing without alcohol?” 

She sighed and shrugged. “When I was in high school, I sang in choir and had solos, and at church, but that was a long time.” 

Frowning, Jane further questioned, “What changed?” 

Lisbon responded by tightening her already crossed arms. “I don’t know. I just stopped-- except if I’ve had a few drinks.” 

Jane looked at Abbott. “If she’s this adamant maybe we need to find another way.” 

Abbott sighed and slowly shook his head. “I wish it was that easy, but there are too many moving parts in this plan. We have to have her singing as the linchpin.” 

Lisbon was looking decided ill and Jane knew that she wouldn’t forgive herself if more people died of overdoses or more women were assaulted and she could have prevented it. He reached over rubbed her arm to loosen it and took the hand she released in his. “Teresa, you know you’ll have to give it a try.” 

She felt that he had once again read her mind and she knew he was right. She had to do what she could. Resigned she said, “Okay, I’ll try, but you should know that I can’t guarantee anything. This could blow up in all our faces.”

Abbott was relieved. He had feared that he wouldn’t get her onboard. “Great. Thank you, Lisbon,” he waved Fischer over with a load of sheet music. “Here are the pieces you need to review. You don’t have to know every song word for word, but you need to be able to fake your way through them.”

The stack was must have contained over 200 songs. Just looking at it, Lisbon’s mouth dropped open and she started shaking her head. “Oh, God!” 

Abbott gently smiled and then gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “I have great confidence in you, and Jane and I will be right there with you.” 

Starting to look through the music, she stopped and looked at both men before responding, “That would be so much more comforting if the sounds were supposed to come from your throats and not mine.” 

The elevator doors opened and four men and a piano came forward. Abbott stood up and called out to them, “Put that in the center conference room.” 

Lisbon and Jane turned and watched as an upright piano was pushed in to what they have come to call “the fishbowl.” 

“We’ll start rehearsing this afternoon, so be sure to spend the morning looking through the music. I’ve already started putting together some basic chords and intros,” Abbott said as he stood up and walked into the conference room. With the door closed you could see him playing but you couldn’t hear it. 

Lisbon turned back to Jane and slowly shook her head. “This can’t be happening. What am I going to do?” 

Jane shrugged. “All you have to do is try. No one can ask more from you than that.” 

She gave him a disbelieving look and started looking at the songs. “The Man That Got Away,” “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life,” “Fever,” “My Man,” were the first ones she saw. Definitely torch songs. 

“I think I’ll find a quiet spot to look through these and hum a bit,” she said as she stood up. 

“Do you want me to come with you or do you want to be alone for a while?” Jane truly wanted to stay with her because he could see she was very nervous but he also knew she had to work through this on her own. 

“I’ll be okay for now but I’ll probably come looking for you this afternoon,” she replied. 

As she walked passed him, Jane took her hand and squeezed it. “Whatever you need, sweetheart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curious about the songs referenced in this chapter? Here are few links:
> 
> I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j0xYRzlrbk  
> So Far Away: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GAaWz4X4nU  
> The Man That Got Away: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRYVIGjZk_U  
> What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQWqmiHK-WE  
> Fever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjy2sZ8yBGQ  
> My Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7GxdxediD0


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no word from Bruno that I've been gifted with ownership. Ah well...

He watched her leave and knew she was heading for the storage area on the floor below. In there were old hard copies of case files that had been uploaded to the FBI internal database but by law couldn’t be destroyed yet. No one went in there and it was pretty quiet. He sometimes hid in there to think and the only one he had told was Lisbon. 

Jane got up and went to Fischer’s office. He tapped on the door and after her quick wave, he came in and sat down. “What can I do for you, Jane?” 

He looked around to make sure they were alone before he said, “I want to see all of the surveillance footage of Teresa’s singing. Could you please let me see the files?” 

“Uh, sure, I don’t think that will be problem-- under the circumstances,” she replied and after locating the files on her desktop system she copied them to a flash drive and handed it to him. “Not to sound mean, but you know how to use this, right?” 

He smiled slightly, “Yes, I do.” 

She watched him leave with a concerned frown. She had viewed the videos when Abbott first read her in on the case. As an objective outsider, watching Teresa’s performances was easy and it showed a side of her new friend that she hadn’t thought existed. However, given the Jane/Lisbon history that she knew, she couldn’t help but think that their consultant was about to be very shocked. 

Jane stopped at Wylie’s desk and asked to borrow a laptop. Wylie was surprised, too, but gave him one and Jane left the area. He went three floors down to a maintenance closet and set up the laptop and installed the flash drive. Soon he was watching clips of Teresa singing her heart out over what appeared to be the last seven years. That made sense to him. The FBI wasn’t always looking over their shoulder at the CBI, only since they had managed to get into some of the uglier turf wars dealing with Red John. 

As he watched, he realized he was seeing into her soul in a way she would never have allowed over the years they worked together. This Teresa Lisbon was very open and honest in her feelings to the point of brutal pain. It was also obvious what the main source of the pain was; it was Patrick Jane. Looking at the date and time stamp on each video, he could track when she had felt particularly vulnerable or hurt and each time he could also remember something he had said or done at about the same time. Sure, there were a few times when she sang out some more upbeat feelings but always they seemed to be followed by some terrible lows. 

Teresa sang of a love that couldn’t be expressed and of a man so distant from her that she felt a fool for loving him. She sang of knowing she should walk away but never being able to let go completely. She sang of missed opportunities and the need for second chances. 

Patrick sighed deeply, leaned back, and stared at the screen before he removed the flash drive and placed it in his coat pocket. She was so careful about hiding this from me, he thought. Did anyone know? He wanted to go to her and beg her forgiveness for the past. He wanted to hold her and never let go. He wanted to prove to her that he-- and they-- were worth all the years of patient waiting. 

At that moment the door gently opened and the object of his adoration hesitantly walked in. “Jane? Are you in here?” She quietly asked. He quickly finished closing out the laptop and checked his watch. He had been so absorbed in the past that he hadn’t noticed that the morning was quickly leaving. 

“Teresa? How did you find me?” He hoped he sounded normal. He was sure he sounded guilty. 

She came around the corner carrying the pile of sheet music. She gave him a slightly strained smile as she answered, “Well, I happen to be pretty familiar with your tendency to establish secluded spaces, so shortly after we started working here I figured out where all the possible Jane Bolt Holes might be.” 

Jane smiled back at her. “Agent Lisbon, you are still one of the craftiest and smartest agents I’ve ever known.” 

She gave him a teasing curtsy in response. “Why thank you, Mr. Jane. Coming from you, I take that as high praise.” 

She looked around the room lit by one fluorescent bulb and small pathways among old storage boxes creating shadowed alcoves. “So what brought you down here?” Seeing the laptop, she added, “And a laptop? My goodness! What could you be wanting to do?” 

“Well, I, uh, wanted to, uh --” Patrick wasn’t sure if she would be upset with him or not, but he was going to have say something.

“Oh,” Teresa interrupted. “You were looking at clips of me.”

“Yeah,” Jane acknowledged while watching her face carefully. “There were snippets going back quite a while.” 

“I see,” she said while toying with the edges of the sheet music she carried. “So, what do you think? Should I stick to my day job?” 

He smiled at her and shook his head. “I think you’re are a very talented, beautiful, sexy lady with a strength beyond measure. I’m just grateful to be part of your life.” 

She could not stop the tears from forming and she set down the music and came to him, putting her arms around his neck. “Oh, that was good. How could I be upset with you after that?” 

Patrick embraced her and ran his hands over her slim back. “Oh God, Teresa, I do love you.” 

“I love you, too,” she replied with her head on his shoulder. 

Stroking her hair, Jane quietly said, “You know I loved you for longer than I think you ever realized. I was just so fearful of letting you get close to me. And frankly, I still think that it was the only decision I could make at the time. Please, forgive me.” 

She pulled back so she could look into his eyes. “The past is past and we have each other now. That’s the most important thing to me.”

“But you have to know that I lived with the daily fear that I would walk into your office or the bullpen, or stop at your apartment and find that damn face painted on the wall. If that had happened, I couldn’t have survived it. If that meant you had to grow to hate me or think me insane, I was willing to do it,” he whispered as he held her face in his hands. 

“Patrick, I couldn’t hate you. I understood that you were in pain. I just wanted to be there for you.”

“But I can see now how much I hurt you and it makes me sick,” he responded. “I never meant to cause you pain. That was the last thing I wanted.” 

Teresa couldn’t stand to see him abusing himself like this. She reached up and pulled his head to hers and kissed him. It was a sweet tender kiss that went on for a couple minutes. 

“We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it,” she said. “I know why you did what you did and do I wish you had let me in? Oh, yeah. But you weren’t ready yet. I told you that I understand.” 

Patrick stepped back and stared down at the closed laptop. “It’s just that when I see you singing, I can’t help but see your pain and to know I caused that makes me wonder what you could ever see in my now.” 

She came to him and embraced him from behind. “God, you are the most foolish man I know sometimes. The singing was a release but it never reflected my constant emotions. I HAVE been happy over the last 12 years we’ve known each other. I loved knowing that you needed me, even if you didn’t always know it yourself. I loved knowing that I was the one you would turn to and that I was the one you counted on when all else failed. You gave me the gift of your trust and I treasured it.” 

He turned around without breaking her embrace. “I have always trusted you and I have always cared. If I had known--” 

“If you had known you would have walked away from me and we wouldn’t be have this amazing relationship now,” she interrupted. “We’ve both been hurt and we’ve both hurt each other, but it’s all led to the present which I think is incredibly wonderful.” 

Patrick pulled her closer and kissed her. It was more passionate than her earlier kiss and filled with a need for her that she felt immediately and returned without reservation. He finally broke the kiss only to spread more kisses over her face and down her neck. She sighed deeply and stroked his back with her hands. He had to unbutton a couple buttons on her blouse to get to her shoulders and the tops of her breast. Her breath caught and she gasped, “Patrick!” 

Deciding that she wasn’t actively stopping him, he brought one hand up to caress her breast while his other gripped her bottom pulling her more tightly against him. 

“Oh God, Teresa, I love you.” 

She was nibbling at his ear and throat as her hands found their way into his thick lush curls. She knew she should be the voice of reason since they were standing in a closet in the FBI building, but his touch and words had melted her-- again. It was only when they heard two people greet each other and laughing together outside the door that they started to realize that this probably wasn’t the best place to continue their current activity. With a groan they pulled back and started helping each other straighten clothes and smooth hair. 

Resigned, Teresa picked up the sheet music and said, “I better meet Abbott before he decides to come find me.” 

Patrick nodded and picked up the laptop and followed her out the door. The two young agents in the hallway seemed surprised to see them coming out of the closet but only nodded at them as they went back towards the elevator. It might have surprised Lisbon and Jane to find out that they were considered a maverick partnership and most of the other agents outside their team were fascinated by them. Tales of their cases and the resolution of the Red John case had made them a bit legendary. 

“Did you see that?” Barney asked Caroline in a whisper. “That was Teresa Lisbon and Patrick Jane! What do you suppose they were doing?”

Caroline who had seen the way Jane kept his hand on the small of Lisbon’s back as the walked to the elevator whispered back, “Besides each other? I don’t know, but I sure wish I had someone looking at me that way.” 

“Yeah,” Barney agreed as they each walked away. 

In the elevator Patrick continued to rub Teresa’s back to relax her. “How are you feeling about the singing now?” 

She smiled a little, “Well, I looked through the music and I’m going to try.” She turned him and asked, “Do you want to sit in on the rehearsal?” 

He seemed surprised, “Do you want me to?” 

She thought for a second and nodded. “Yeah, I think it might help to have someone there to give me moral support.” 

Seeing that the elevator was almost to their floor he gave her a quick hard kiss just before the doors opened and said, “Always, my love. Always.” 

They walked into the conference room where Abbott was sitting at the piano playing. “There you are, Lisbon. I was afraid you had gone into hiding.” 

“No, sir, I just lost track of time,” she replied as she walked to the piano. “So where do you want to start?” 

Abbott looked at her and at Jane. He could see that Lisbon was feeling much better but that Jane was looking more concerned than earlier. Talking to Fischer earlier he knew that Jane had a flash drive made of Teresa’s singing and that he had probably reviewed all of it. It must have been quite a shock to see. However, he decided that since the two of them seemed to be as close as ever, he would stay out of it. 

Jane could tell that Abbott was wondering about his presence and said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I told Lisbon I would stay and offer some moral support.” 

“As long as you don’t act like a music critic, I have no problem,” Abbott said with a short laugh. 

Jane sat down in a chair next to the door as Lisbon hopped into a pub height chair that had been placed next to the small upright piano. She put the music on top of the piano and asked, “How do you want to work through this?”

Over the next few hours Abbott who would be known as Denny Abbs and Terri Lipton rehearsed and got to know the way each worked. They also shared a few laughs and developed a few jokes to tell between songs. Jane watched and found himself even more besotted with this astounding woman. He knew she was still fearful of pulling off the assignment but she was going to try as hard as she could and even if she doubted herself, he never would. 

 

A couple of times during the afternoon, Jane stepped out and brought back bottles of water for his songbird, coffee for their boss, and tea for himself. 

Once while he was in the break room he ran into Cho who was grabbing a cup of coffee and reading a file. “Hey, how’s it going in there? Is she okay?” 

Jane nodded while putting the bottle of water in his coat jacket and pouring tea for himself. He made a second cup with honey and lemon in the hope that he could convince Lisbon to have some to sooth her throat. 

“She’s okay. She’s working on the music and putting together a routine,” Jane replied. He looked at Cho and had to ask, “Did you have any idea that she sang?” 

Cho shook his head. “No, man, I was as surprised as you. I doubt she told anybody.” 

Jane nodded again, “You’re probably right. She’s a private person and this was her outlet.” 

Cho genuinely like Jane. He secretly admired the way he had been willing to do whatever it took to avenge his wife and daughter and he had no problem with the outcome of the case. He also thought Jane was a great friend and had showed that even though he could torment his old CBI buddies, he also cared deeply about them. However, he couldn’t help but be aware of the fact that sometimes Jane had been a self-serving and self-involved jerk not only to the team, but to Lisbon as well. Still, in the last six months, he had also realized that Jane must have been in love with Lisbon for a very long time, too. Therefore, today’s news was probably pretty startling. 

“Are you okay?” Cho asked not completely expecting a reply. 

Jane stirred the tea and answered, “Sure. I guess I just wish I hadn’t been such a bastard-- especially to her.” 

Given the loving and honest way the couple were with each other now, Cho decided to let the guy off the hook a bit for his past. “Well, the important thing is that you know now.” 

Cho started to walk out the door but turned around to add, “Because if you had continued to treat her that bad, I would have to kill you and I learned from a former consultant just how to serve a dish a revenge.” 

Jane looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you. And believe me, you have my permission to do your worst if I ever screw this up.” 

About 8:30 that night, Abbott and Lisbon agreed to call it quits for the day and start again tomorrow. “I think you sound great, Lisbon, and I’m thinking that we’re ready to let a few other people hear tomorrow. What do you think?”

She agreed, “We might as well get started acclimating to an audience. I don’t want to face people for the first time at the Noted Lady.” 

“Good,” Abbott said. “We’ll ask the team to come in and make requests and act like club patrons. It should help everyone. Also, tomorrow morning Fischer is going to bring in some clothes for you to try on and complete the Terri Lipton look.” 

Lisbon groaned a bit but said, “Okay, but just know that I would be most comfortable in a T-shirt and jeans.” 

Abbott and Jane both laughed knowing that it was probably true. Jane, however, loved to see her dressed up and showing off her beautiful figure. “C’mon, sweetheart, I’ll take you home.” 

Abbott watched the two leave and wondered again how it took them so long to find each other. It was obvious that they were meant to be together and no one would ever be able to break their bond. 

That night they had a dinner of take out Chinese that they picked up on the way home and went to bed early. Once in bed, Patrick made it his mission to make sure that Teresa had a night free of worry. They played a duet that was in perfect harmony and when they were finally left breathing hard, with a light sheen of perspiration covering their bodies, a thoroughly satisfied Teresa slumped across Patrick’s chest without a care in the world.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I super wish I owned these characters, but I'm merely borrowing a wee bit...

The next morning Teresa and Patrick arrived as usual to work. Just before leaving the car, as he had done every day for the last six months, Patrick pulled Teresa into his arms and gave her a deep passionate kiss and they exchanged “I love yous.” This was always the final moment before Patrick and Teresa became Jane and Lisbon. 

Upon entering their team’s offices, Lisbon was told to report to Fischer and Jane decided to seek out Cho and Wiley and find out how the rest of the team’s covers were progressing and if anything new was known regarding the drugs or the assaults. 

He found the two sitting at their desks tapping away at their keyboards and pulled up a chair and sat down. “Gentlemen, what is the good word today?” 

Cho shook his head and said, “None that I can think of right now. We’ve been watching the club from across the street for days and still can’t figure out how drugs are getting in and out. It makes no sense. The intel is good and it clearly indicates that the drugs are coming here first.” 

Jane picked up a file of still photographs showing the nightclub and activities surrounding it. “Hmm. Interesting. What about the assaults? Any idea who’s behind those and how they’re connected to the drugs?” 

Cho and Wylie exchanged a look before Cho admitted they had nothing there either. “In fact, it’s worse than nothing. Last night another assault was reported. A woman was beaten, but not raped, and she’s in the hospital. From what she told the Crimes Against Women Unit, two nights ago she was in the club with a couple friends. She started feeling a bit nauseous so she left early. She has no memory of anything after she left her friends until she came to in her car on the other side of town late yesterday afternoon. She has bruises and contusions to her head, arms, and body. She also had three broken ribs and it looked like someone had choked her for a while.” 

“Had she been reported missing?” Jane asked. 

“No,” Wylie answered while looking at the report on his screen. “According to her friends, they texted her the next morning to see how she was doing and they got an answer from her saying that she was okay but was going to stay in bed for the day. They just thought she had come down with a flu bug.” 

Jane’s eyes widened a bit. “So the attacker is making sure that no one is looking for the victim. That’s so not good.” 

Cho shook his head in frustration. “Here’s the other part that is surprising. All these women are ranging in age from 37 to 45 and they’re smart career women. They wouldn’t accept a drink from the hand of just anyone, yet they’re being drugged. They’re also not alone at the club. They’re with groups or dates. This person is very organized and bold.” 

The more Jane heard about this case, the more uneasy he got. “Well, what about the police leak? Any updates there?” 

Wyle sighed and slumped his shoulders. “Not really. We’ve narrowed it down to a few detectives but that’s it.” 

Jane inhaled and exhaled. “Can I look at the files for a while?”

Cho and Wylie gladly gave the consultant their paper files and watched as he wandered over to his couch where he sat in the center and spread the files out around him. They knew that while he had been distracted yesterday with Lisbon’s part of the plan, today he would work through the information and process it. 

Jane spent most of the morning sorting and re-organizing the material into patterns. When one pattern collapsed, he reshuffled and reworked the pattern. He finally realized that they were going to have to solve either the assaults OR the drug trafficking first because the patterns and intersects made it impossible to see where the right pathway to the truth existed. 

“Solve one and the other should be obvious. The question is: which one can we complete first?” He muttered to himself. 

Jane was joined by Abbott who asked if he could interrupt. “Certainly. I’m going to need a little more time to form some theories. What’s up?”

Abbott handed the consultant another file. “We worked on flushing out your cover this morning before you got here. You’re still basically the boyfriend, but we thought it would make more sense for you, Jake Patterson, to also be Terri Lipton’s manager. Then you can be at the club nightly and observe everything.”

Jane read through the file and chuckled, “A former nightclub magician turned talent manager? Not bad. I think this will work.”

******

In Kim Fischer’s office, she and Lisbon were putting together a basic wardrobe for Lisbon’s soon-to-be alter ego Terri Lipton. They had already completed the I.D. package of driver’s license, credit card, bank account, and other personal information and now they were focusing on creating her stage look and backstory of the character. Terri Lipton was single and most recently had worked in Washington state. She had been singing in piano bars for almost ten years and had been working with Denny Abbs as her accompanist for a couple years. She was single and dating her manager, Jake Patterson, who used to work in clubs, too, as a magician before he decided to manage others. They were said to be very much in love but tried not to show it since a torch singer should seem more of a tragic figure. 

Fischer explained Jane’s cover to Lisbon and said that she and Abbott had finished flushing this out after realizing that Jane and Lisbon work best when they can exchange a look or a quick word. 

The blinds on the office were closed and a sign on the door warned people to wait for permission to enter, while inside Lisbon tried on one outfit after another. 

“Ow! I think the sequins are caught in my hair,” she complained as she was putting on the first cocktail dress, a shiny silver number with blinding sequins. 

Fischer rushed over to help Lisbon get untangled. “Sorry. I have a feeling this is not the right dress for you.” 

Lisbon giggled. “It feels like I’m wearing part of Jane’s Airstream with silver reflectors.” 

Fischer burst out laughing. “Oh, no! I hadn’t even thought of that, but you’re right! Okay, we’ll get this back off.” 

They moved on to the next dress which was much more sedate but still quietly sexy. It was a simple forest green silk with lace trim at the bodice and hem, and green satin straps that crossed in back. The length placed it about two inches above her knee. Although everything important was covered, it gave the appearance of being a very dressy slip and would have every man in the audience wondering when she would slide out of it. 

The two women grinned at each other and agreed that this one was a keeper. In fact, Lisbon was wondering just what a certain consultant would do when he saw it. He always said that he loved her in or out of anything, but a girl did like to surprise and remind her significant other that she was sexy. 

From here, they agreed on a basic black dress that showed off her waist and one that reminded Lisbon of the style of the dress he bought her for the art theft sting but in the color of the dress she wore to dinner the night he first confessed that he loved her. They also selected a tight black leather skirt and three blouses to wear with it, one being a man’s dress shirt that she would tie in a knot at her waist and roll up the sleeves. Accessories, debates on hosiery, shoes, and jewelry followed before they were agreed that her stage wardrobe was complete. 

The two women finally took a break and relaxed for a few minutes. It was quiet until Fischer hesitantly said, “Um, Teresa, I hope you won’t be mad, but yesterday Jane asked to see more footage of you singing and I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no.” 

Lisbon smiled and shook her head, “It’s not a problem. I know Jane and he wasn’t going to be satisfied until he saw all of it.”

Fischer let a sigh. “Good. So he’s watched and you guys are okay?”

Lisbon continued to smile and added a slight blush as she thought about their post-dinner activities the night before. “Oh, we’re more than okay.” 

Fischer raised an eyebrow but only smiled. “Well, that’s more than good to hear.” 

They shared a quiet laugh before Fischer decided to take advantage of this relaxed version of Lisbon to satisfy some of the questions she had never asked her and would never dream of asking Jane. 

“I know how you got started working with Jane but I’ve never understood HOW you worked with Jane,” realizing that probably didn’t sound very nice she hastened to add, “That didn’t come out right, I’m sorry.” 

Lisbon shook her head. “No, I know what you mean. For years, I told people that I worked with Patrick Jane because he closed cases faster than anyone I had ever seen before. My unit was always number one in statistics. But that wasn’t completely true.” 

Fischer stayed silent; encouraging Lisbon to talk. 

“From the beginning, I admit I liked him. Even when I wanted to shoot him, punch him, and/or throw him from a cliff, his charm and wit kept me from following through. Sure, he could be a complete jackass at times and more often than not was a manipulative jerk. Hell, he still can be, from time to time. But I was completely aware of that, and he could turn around and do something so completely sweet and charming that I couldn’t stay angry.” 

“You fell in love with him a long time ago, didn’t you?” Fischer asked. 

“Oh yes,” Lisbon nodded slowly. “And I’ll bet your next question is to wonder why I would love a man who was so obsessed with revenge that he seemed to have nothing left to give. The answer is that I don’t know the answer; at least not entirely. For a very long time I just assumed that there was no hope of his ever falling in love with me. I thought and felt that he cared, but in love? No, he was too focused on finding Red John. There were moments when I thought it was more but he was always careful to keep it bottled up. He could never forget what Red John did to his family and I think he believed he had a responsibility to the people he cared about not to put them in Red John’s sight. So I tried as hard as I could to keep my feelings closed off and not burden him with it. There were times when it was obvious and there were times when I was hurt because of it, but not because he deliberately set out to do that. I understood and I was happy to have what we had for a very long time. It was only when he left and I thought I would never see him again that I began thinking that I didn’t want to be alone for the rest of my life. That’s why when he came back and he didn’t really talk to me about what he was feeling, I decided that I couldn’t wait another almost 12 years to give my love and I tried to move on-- and we all know what happened next.” 

Fischer raised her eyebrows and nodded. “I did wonder how you two couldn’t see the elephant in the room but I guess love really is blind. Nevertheless, I think you probably saved his soul and kept him sane during the hunt for Red John.” 

Lisbon tilted her head to the side and responded, “Y’know I’ve heard many people say that and even Jane’s said something similar to that, but what no one seems to realize is that he saved mine.” Seeing the doubtful look on the agent’s face, Lisbon continued. “It’s true. When my family fell apart and I had to be the one caring for my brothers, and somehow I lost touch with my soul and my feelings. It was easier to just keep them locked away and protected than to let anyone have a chance to hurt me. Then along comes Patrick Jane and he’s making me angry, making me laugh, making me frustrated, making me-- everything. Know this: We saved each other.” 

Fischer sighed. She wondered if she would ever know that kind of passion. Maybe someday. Her phone rang. It was their boss asking if Lisbon was ready to join him for some late morning rehearsing. 

Lisbon laughed and said, “Tell Denny Abbs that Terri Lipton will meet him at the piano in ten minutes.”

Fischer laughed, too, and replied to him, “Uh, she’ll be in the conference room in ten minutes, sir.” 

As Lisbon started to open the door she turned back to Fischer and thanked her for her help this morning and also to tell her, “Oh, and by the way, Kim, Patrick told me about your dinner with him in South America and I’m okay with that, too. After all, he may have taken his ring off for a few hours, but I now know I had his heart in my letters in Washington.” 

Kim Fischer was stunned and could only stared wide-eyed as Teresa Lisbon, less FBI agent and more Patrick Jane’s devoted lady, left the office. 

 

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no word from Bruno...

That afternoon the rest of Abbott’s team including supporting technical and tactical members were invited back to the briefing area. The piano that had been in the “fishbowl” was now sitting in front with a high chair next to it. The other chairs in the area were arranged in a more informal haphazard manner to help the group relax and enjoy their “meeting.” 

Once the group had assembled, Agent Fischer stepped up to the front and began addressing the group. “Thanks everyone for coming in. Before we get to the big reason for your being here, I’d like to take care of a couple points.”

As Kim talked about overtime hours and expense report filings, Abbott, Lisbon, and Jane stood off in a far corner talking quietly. 

“How are you feeling?” Jane asked Lisbon as he took her cold hand and rubbed it between his and tried to look into her eyes as far as he could. 

“I’m okay, really,” she whispered in return and almost meant it. “This is a friendly audience so it’s a good place to start.” 

“I know you’ll be great so just relax and enjoy it,” he said encouragingly. 

She smiled, “Thanks.” 

Patrick looked around and while everyone was focusing on Kim, he leaned toward Teresa and gave her slow, passionate kiss. Normally, he would never have tried something like that while others were there, but he decided that he could take a bit of special license. Seeing what was happening, Abbott stepped forward to shield the couple a bit. 

When the couple separated, they exchanged rather lustful smiles before Teresa reached up and wiped Terri Lipton’s lipstick off Jake Patterson’s face. 

Meanwhile, Kim was finishing up. “To the women going undercover in the club, we want you to be careful and vigilant. We received word yesterday that another woman was attacked. Look out for each other and don’t be afraid to break cover if you get in trouble.”

Abbott, a.k.a., Denny Abbs walked to the front of the room and sat down at the piano. Kim took this as the cue that they were ready and moved on, “Finally, I want to make sure that everyone understands the importance of maintaining the undercover aliases of the three main characters in our sting. Under no circumstances should you tell anyone what they are doing. If there is any leak, even the tiniest one, it could be very dangerous for them, so no telling your husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, partners, or tree surgeons about what our agents are doing. We know we can count on all of you.” 

She stopped and looked out at the group that returned her serious expression and seemed to be silently giving their word. 

“Okay, thank you.” Kim broke into a big grin before she closed by saying, “And now, it gives me great pleasure to present to you the Noted Lady’s next chanteuse, here for a special performance, the one, the only-- Terri Lipton!” 

During the applause, Jane slipped into a chair two rows back and slightly left of center. He would probably need to sit at the back of the room or the at the bar when they were at the club in order to better observe the room and everyone’s movements so he was going to take advantage of the chance to sit closer and watch her now. 

Abbott started to play as Teresa hopped into the pub chair and picked up the microphone that was placed next to it on top of the piano. “Thank you. It’s nice of you all to take the time to come and help us this way.” 

She nodded to Abbott who moved into a more formal introduction and she began singing, “The Best is Yet to Come.” 

From the first note, she had the audience in the palm of her hand. They were completely enthralled with her and utterly surprised as the woman that some had discounted as merely the pretty bait to keep the mysterious Patrick Jane at the FBI, transformed into someone else right before their eyes. 

When she finished singing she received a very enthusiastic round of applause including completely out of character whistling through the teeth by Agent Cho. After thanking them, she went on to introduce the man at the piano. “Folks, those lovely sounds coming from the keyboard are courtesy of my favorite pianist, Denny Abbs! Let’s give Denny a hand.” 

Teresa as Terri chatted with the audience for a few minutes while Denny meandered through chords. Then she went into her next number, “You Go to My Head.” This continued for the rest of their set which included six more songs. 

Jane couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was beautiful, charming, disarming, and completely captivating. Her occasional direct look at him and the couple of winks directed at him, made him feel like the luckiest man in the room. 

When the last note was sung and the applause ended, Kim came back up and took the microphone from Teresa. “You were fabulous!” Turning to the group she said, “Thanks for helping today and if you have time over the next few days we’ll be doing a few more of these sets to help our talented team get their feet wet. Okay, you’re free to carry on now.” 

Fischer, Abbott, Jane, and Lisbon gathered around the piano and rehashed what happened. 

“I think this is going to work perfectly,” Abbott beamed. “Everyone was watching Lisbon, I mean, Terri Lipton, and I could keep an eye on the entire room.” 

After making a few more plans and suggestions, the group scattered back to their desks and offices. Lisbon flopped onto Jane’s couch and picked up the file that was at the top of the stack. 

“Any thoughts yet?” she asked. 

Jane shrugged as he sat down at Lisbon’s desk where another stack of files and surveillance photos were awaiting a third examination. “I’m not sure. There’s something odd about the trash dumpsters.” 

She got up, leaned over his shoulder, and looked at the photographs showing the dumpsters in the back corner of the parking lot at the side of the night club. “What do you mean by odd?” 

“Not sure,” he answered frowning. “Hey, Wylie? Do we have video covering the same time frame as the still photographs?”

The technical analyst leaned back in his chair and said, “Yeah, we should. Do you want me to send it to you?” 

“Yes, please. Send it to Lisbon’s desktop so I can look at it now,” he answered.

“Okay, it will be there in a jiffy.” 

“Thank you, Wylie.” 

Lisbon logged into her email and they waited for the video file to download. “While you’re looking at that I’m going to get some coffee. Tea?” 

“Yes, please, and thank you,” he replied with a smile and squeeze of the hand that she was resting on his shoulder. 

Jane watched her walk away and realized that the day he stopped taking a moment to watch her walk away was the day they should attach a tag to his big toe. 

“Jane? Jane?!”

Startled from his distraction, he turned to Cho with a blank expression. “I’m sorry, what?” 

Cho almost cracked a smile, “I was asking you what is it that first caught your eye-- in the photographs?”

“Oh! Right,” Jane shook his head to come out of his fantasy world, clicked on the file, and started moving through the file. “The trash is wrong.” 

“Wrong? What does that mean?” Cho asked frowning. He had worked with Jane long enough not to discount Jane’s observations and wanted to be able to follow up on anything he could add. 

“I can’t quite put my finger on it but it’s as if the amount of trash on certain days isn’t high enough and on others too high,” Jane tried to explain. “For instance, you would think after the busiest nights like Fridays and Saturdays, the next morning the dumpster would be filled, but that’s not always true. AND after slow nights, like Mondays, you would think it wouldn’t have that much in it. However, that’s not true.” 

Cho countered this observation with a theory. “Maybe they’re so busy on weekends that they only take the time to get rid of the basics and then do the big toss at the beginning of the week.” 

Jane nodded, “Fair enough. As I said, I don’t know if there’s anything important about that at all. But there is one other thing.”

Lisbon had walked back and sat Jane’s tea on the desk beside him as Cho and Jane were discussing the trash question. She looked at the computer screen with him and asked, “What’s the other thing?” 

“How did the trash get in the dumpster?” He asked as he stopped to take a sip of tea. 

Cho, Wylie, and Lisbon looked at each trying to figure out what he meant. Was it a trick question? 

“I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say that people who work at the club toss bags of it in, but I’m guessing you’re looking for something different,” Lisbon said. 

“You know me so well,” he sighed before he looked at the group. “If we look at the amount of trash people throw in and we look at the dumpster it doesn’t make sense.” 

Seeing that they still didn’t understand what he was saying he tried again. “You have the same people carrying the same number of bags, but some days the dumpster looks completely filled and other days it doesn’t. How is this possible?” 

Cho got up and walked over to look at the pictures and video that Jane had looked at. “Maybe there are people illegally dumping.” 

Jane shook his head. “According to our surveillance record, we have had the parking lot-- that includes the dumpster-- under constant video surveillance for the last two weeks. We’re seeing everyone that uses it.” 

Cho had no quick answer. “Wylie, I want you to go back through all the footage and compare it to the stills. See if it corroborates Jane’s statement.” 

Jane cautioned the agent, “I still don’t know if it will prove to be important, but it’s definitely the oddest thing I’ve found.” 

Cho shook his head, “It’s the first interesting question we’ve had since this started so I’m willing to work with it. Thanks, Jane.” 

Wylie spent what was left of his day looking through the dumpster footage and Cho decided to look into the background of the company that provided the dumpster and the hauling service. 

Over the next few days, the trash mystery grew. No one could figure out how the dumpster filled so rapidly when it appeared to be a study amount tossed in each day. No illegal dumpers were seen nor any dumpster divers who may have removed trash. Beyond this one avenue, other leads were not to be found. Worse yet, another woman was assaulted and like many of the others she had been gone for over 36 hours with what seemed like a complete lapse in memory. 

Abbott was worried enough about this to suggest that perhaps there would be some benefit in hypnosis. However, Jane wasn’t sure it would work. “I once was asked to hypnotize a woman who couldn’t remember what had taken place over the course of an evening. Unfortunately, while I successfully got her to relax and talk to me, because her memory loss was drug induced, we couldn’t break through the haze.” 

“Hmm,” Abbott replied. “I hadn’t thought about that. Did the woman ever remember?” 

“Snippets only. However, we were able to prove that the man that had drugged her was responsible for the crime he had tried to frame her for,” he replied. To himself he added: And I got to watch the woman dance around her apartment wearing almost nothing but an oversized football jersey while we waited for the killer to show up, he thought to himself as he remembered Teresa’s adorable dance and fake drunk routine. 

“Okay, well we’ll table the idea for now, but we may have to revisit it again if we don’t get more information soon,” Abbott said. 

Jane had looked at the interview tapes that the survivors had given to the Crimes Against Women Unit. The unit officers were very good and he believed that they had been able to connect to these women better than anyone else could have, but it was obvious that the drug cocktail was making any identification markers impossible to find. He hated the thought of waiting until the attacker made a mistake, but it looked like that was what they were going to have to do. 

 

Over the next few days, the team finished putting everything in place. Denny Abbs and Terri Lipton performed a few more times in practice. They started adding requests and dedications to their routine to keep them on their toes. Other members of the team who were coming in and out of the club as customers reported nothing unusual. 

Abbott, Jane, and Lisbon did take time out to make a public show of moving into new apartments in the same building not far from the club. It was bit rundown but clean and seemed to fit with the characters they were developing. Denny Abbs rented a studio while Jake and Terri rented a small one bedroom. The best part of the building was that it had great wifi reception. 

The senior members of the team were also given earwigs to use for the entire mission. They were shown how to turn them off for the night and turn them on first thing in the morning. “Keep it on as much as possible,” Fischer cautioned. “If something were to go wrong, even if we can’t speak to you, there’s GPS tracking with it. Since they’re so small, no one should notice it.” 

Ironically, Jane seemed to be the least bothered by it. At least, that was what he wanted Teresa to believe. He would put up with anything, including Big Brother finally getting a chip-like device in his head, if it could keep her safe. When she wanted to take it back out during the move-in, he discouraged her saying that she could just turn it off but that she probably needed to get used to having it her ear. Teresa always knew when he was conning her but when she thought about it, she decided that if it made him feel better, she wouldn’t argue. 

The night before they were to begin their gig at the Noted Lady, Abbott sat with Lisbon and Jane, laughing, eating bad take out, and drinking only slightly better wine. Abbott admitted that he didn’t think Jane would agree to come back to the U.S. “I thought you would just run further to ground. I was surprised when you agreed, but then I looked at your list.” 

Jane chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, the list that you tried to get around.” 

Abbott also laughed, “Well, that’s one of the first things they teach you: Let the perp think he’s getting what he wants then find a way to get out of it. But you surprised me. I knew you were in contact with Teresa but it was only when I saw that she was number one on your list that I realize that she was the key to getting you to return.” 

Patrick and Teresa were seated together on the sofa with his arm across the back of it behind her. They looked at each other and exchanged a warm look and she gave his tummy a slight rub. “Yeah, I admit it. I missed Teresa and that was the only thing that would bring me back here-- the chance to see her again.” 

“I’m just glad it’s all worked out,” Abbott said and added to Teresa, “Although why you decided to put up with his-- crap-- for all those years I’ll never know.” 

Teresa laughed at this and the slightly wounded look on Patrick’s face before she turned back to their boss. “Hah! Well, that’s why I’m glad not a team leader anymore. I spent enough time in various offices explaining what I started calling the ‘Patrick Jane Method of Detection.’ I’m glad to just be the rational partner now.” 

Patrick knew that part of what they said was true and part was teasing, but he felt the need to protest, “Hey! I’m in the room!” 

Teresa patted his leg and laughed, “Believe me, my love, we are well aware of your presence. It’s just as your former and current bosses, we can commiserate with the need to ask you to play by the rules.” 

The lighthearted bickering continued for another short while before Abbott decided to go downstairs to his studio. “Tomorrow is a big day. Hopefully, we’ll be back in our own homes soon. Good night.” 

Jane closed and locked the door as Teresa turned and walked back to the coffee table, picked up the coffee mugs that had served as wine glasses, and took them to the small kitchen to rinse. Jane picked up the empty sandwich wrappers and through them in the trash and came to her in the kitchen. 

“You know it’s the truth, don’t you?” He asked her as he put his arms around her from behind. 

“What’s the truth?” She leaned back into him. 

“You’re the reason I came back,” he said as he sighed and breathed in the smell of her shampoo. “I missed you so much that I hurt.” 

She smiled and tilted her head to the side to give him more access to her neck. “I was hurting, too. Every one of your letters was a double-edged sword. I couldn’t wait to get them to find out how you were and if you were safe, but at the same time, each was a reminder that you were gone.” She turned around and looked at him and changed her tone to one that was slightly admonishing, “Of course, I know of at least one night when you apparently weren’t missing me too, too much.”

Jane had the grace to look slightly embarrassed by that but he still felt compelled to explain, “I was very, very lonely and suddenly to meet someone new-- a fellow American-- it was nice. But at the end of it, even if there hadn’t been the fiasco of the drug lord punching me, I think I would have said goodnight and called it an evening.” 

“Really,” Teresa said slightly skeptical. 

“Yes,” Patrick said firmly, “She may have been a confident American woman with a sweet smile and dark hair, but she wasn’t my Teresa.” 

Teresa reached up and gave him a kiss. “That’s lovely, but I know you took off your ring that night.” 

Jane shook his head, “You’re thinking that meant something, but it didn’t. I just didn’t want to have to explain a lot of my baggage that night. It was not the signal that indicated I wanted to jump into bed with her.” 

She believed him and she decided that she really didn’t want to spend a lot of time discussing his past dates or conquests. After all, she was the one who had most recently caused problems by bringing a third person into their relationship and she would have to live with it. 

“You know there is one person that I would completely forgive you for sleeping with,” she said playfully as she took his hand and led him into the bedroom. 

“Oh, is there? And who might that be?” he asked with a grin. 

“Why Terri Lipton, of course,” she teased. 

Patrick shook his head. “Won’t work. She’s dating this really possessive guy by the name of Jake Patterson and he won’t let me get too close. I guess we’ll just have to stick together.” 

They were laughing as the fell to the bed. 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following songs were referenced in this chapter. Feel free to check them out.
> 
> “The Best is Yet to Come” http://youtu.be/YajKJJzbmXw   
> “You Go to My Head” http://youtu.be/cEBmheagOJk


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I checked. The phone is working but Bruno still hasn't called to make me a partner. 
> 
>  
> 
> A brief fast forward to where we began our story...

Lisbon jerked and felt the rope digging into her arms. For a brief moment, as she was regaining consciousness she thought she was back in Terri Lipton’s and Jake Patterson’s little apartment. Then she realized she was stuck. Did she fall asleep or was she drugged some more? She tried to assess her physical condition while not being able to move. Her face hurt. It felt like her cheekbones were three times their normal size and although it was dark and she couldn’t see well, she had a feeling that the reason she could see less from her left eye than her right was because the one was swollen. “Someone has been hitting me-- hard.” 

The good news is that she can remember what happened before he drugged her, just not during the time that it was most active in her bloodstream. “Okay, then, I have to try and hold onto every memory I can,” she told herself. 

She continued to assess her physical condition. Her legs? The right one hurt. Why? She tried to move it, felt the rope, but continued to move her ankle until a stab of pain stopped her. “Sprained right ankle: how did that happen? Did I start to get away? That’s hopeful.” 

She inhaled and exhaled deeply. She felt a twinge in her rib cage but nothing more. Her ribs were still intact. If she can escape, she’ll just have one bad ankle to deal with. So far so good. 

She deliberately squirmed in the chair as much as possible. She didn’t feel any twinges or sharp pain through her pelvic area and from what she could tell there was no vaginal pain. “Please, Lord, let that be a sign that I haven’t been raped,” she prayed silently. 

Her eyes were starting to adjust more to the darkness alleviated by the glow of a small red dot of light coming from the ceiling. What was making the glow she couldn’t tell. With that much light she could just make out the shadows of her clothing. The men’s dress shirt that she was wearing with the black skirt was looser than it had been and her left breast felt sore. “Drugged me, groped me, and got rough? Maybe I’m glad there isn’t a mirror right now.” 

She tried to decide if the earwig was still in the canal of her left ear. She thought it might be but wondered if it had somehow been turned off. “If it was on, they should be able to find me through GPS.” She tried moving her head and rolling it to her shoulder to try and switch it on, but to no avail. 

There was a small burst of light as the door to what she guessed was a basement opened. She could hear music and laughter for a brief moment but it seemed very distant. She started to scream to get a attention, but the door and the sound was shut off almost immediately and the sound completely gone. She decided that the room must be soundproofed. That meant they were in a place where the public was nearby. A dark form wearing a mask came quietly down the steps. 

“Oh, Miss Lipton, are you trying to be a naughty girl again? When are you going to learn your lessons?” The voice was no more than a whisper. Obviously he was worried that she would recognize him. The fact that she had figured out who he was gave her the only tactical advantage she had. It also helped that her years of police work taught her to hold on to everything said, every sight, every smell, every movement and document it in what Jane called a memory palace. The more she did this, the more likely she would be able to back up her identification with proof. 

She wasn’t sure if it would help or not to answer him. In her current physical condition, she opted for silence. Her captor laid something down on the table on the other side of the room and turned on a desk lamp that shined on what appeared to be syringes and vials. He took a syringe and filled it with a slightly less than clear liquid. 

The man in the mask shook his head and whispered, “I don’t know how you’re resisting these drugs but I’m ready to try another combination. At some point, we’ll take that aggression right out of you and then you and I will really have some fun.”

He came and stood over her, turning on a light on what must have been the front of his mask. There was no way she could see behind the light. As he took hold of her left arm to steady it against the chair, she tried to flinch away but without success. “Tsk, tsk, Miss Lipton,” he admonished her, “You don’t want to cause yourself anymore pain now do you?”

He stuck the needle in her arm and pushed down on the plunger sending a warm stream of something into her body. Within a minute, she was starting to feel woozy. She fought it as hard as she could. “So a big guy like you has to keep me drugged to control me? Is that the way you keep your dates from knowing just how unmemorable you really are?” 

Suddenly he grabbed her throat and squeezed hard enough to make breathing almost impossible. “Stupid creature! Just like the others, your real fear will come in the not knowing what you did willingly or unwillingly and in the fact that I could brush up against you in a market and you would never know it was me. You’ll be wondering who I am and where I am for the rest of your life. I will own your peace of mind and maybe even your sanity,” he sneered and let go of her throat. 

Lisbon concentrated on the words of songs that had come to mind as he was talking. “You don’t own me/ I’m not just one of your many toys/ …” 

She heard him growl as she faded out. ………. 

 

Jane looked at photos of the alleged crime scene. He stared at her purse on the ground next to the open driver’s side door. It was her big old bag that carried her flat shoes and a sweater. She hated changing at the club so she wore everything but her dress shoes. Given her propensity to twist her ankles she didn’t like to wear the high heels more than necessary. 

He flexed his arm and he could almost feel her hanging on to it to walk when she had on anything more than a couple inches. 

“She’s not wearing shoes she can run in,” he muttered. “She could fall and twist an ankle.” 

“What’s that, Jane?” Cho was at the table behind Jane and heard the words, “shoe” and “twist.” 

“Nothing. Except-- hold it! If her purse was lost in a struggle, why did nothing fall out and why is it placed so perfectly next to the door?” Jane’s brain felt like it was coming out of a deep freeze. 

Cho turned around and looked at it with Jane. “You have a point. It could be that it was deliberately left there, but why?” 

Jane stared at the photograph longer before he spoke again. “To make us believe that the assailant grabbed her at the car. HE GRABBED HER SOMEWHERE ELSE!! He only wanted us to believe it at that spot!” 

Cho called out to the others that they might have a lead. “She may not have been taken in the parking lot. Let’s rethink this, people.” 

Jane clutched at Cho’s arm. “Are you sure that you looked everywhere in that building?” 

Cho nodded. “Everywhere, Jane. But we’ll look again and in the surrounding buildings, too.” He didn’t want to give Jane false hope so he didn’t want to tell him that Lisbon would be okay, but he did feel the need to offer some comfort. “So far, only one woman has died and that was because of an unknown heart condition. He hasn’t deliberately killed anyone and has released the women within 36 hours.” 

Jane looked at Cho and realized that the stoic agent was offering him the only solace he had. “You’re right. I know that. But I can also tell time and she’s been missing for a long time now.” 

“We’ll get her. YOU’LL get her. You know that,” Cho said quietly. “She knows she can trust you to find her and always have her back.” 

Cho gave Jane's shoulder one final squeeze before he stepped away to consult with the other searchers. Jane watched him walk away and tried to hold on to what he had said. Cho was right. If the guy’s M.O. stayed the same, he should be letting Lisbon go within another day at the worst. But he wanted her back NOW-- before she went through anything more. 

“What else can I find?” he turns back to the case board. 

He touched his pocket where he was keeping her crucifix. Reflexively touching it made him feel closer to her. “We’re closing in, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Stay strong.”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You Don’t Own Me: http://youtu.be/vNb-8gLcXLs


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

Patrick and Teresa discovered a wonderful benefit to their undercover assignment their first morning: They didn’t have to worried about getting up early to head into the office. For the duration of the mission, they were to stay well away from FBI’s headquarters in Austin. This led to a leisurely awakening with lots of kisses and touches. Finally, the couple got up. Patrick encouraged Teresa to jump in the shower with him as a way to conserve water. “Austin is in a drought zone. What better way to do our civic duty than to shower together?” 

“Yes, you are such a good friend of the environment,” she teased, but still let him pull her in. 

They put in their earwigs and were just getting ready to wander out to a coffee shop when Jake Patterson’s phone rang. It was the first time since the phone was set up for him. “Hello?” 

“Mr. Patterson? This is George Calhoun,” the gravelly voice on the other end of the line said. 

Jane put the phone on speaker as he answered, “Good morning, Mr. Calhoun.” 

“I wanted to call you to see if 2:00 would be a good meeting time for you and your talents. They still need to sign their contracts.” Calhoun said. “Their first set starts at 8:00 tonight. 

Jane looked at Lisbon who just shrugged. “Yeah, I think that’s doable. We’ll see you then.” 

“Great.” Calhoun answered before both sides signed off the conversation. 

Jane closed the phone, looked at Lisbon who was appearing slightly less relaxed than she was five minutes ago, and with a deep sigh said, “And so it begins.” 

At about 2:00, Jake, Terri, and Denny walked through the doors of the Noted Lady. There was an alcove where a hatcheck station once existed, but now it was closed off and had a poster of a festival that had occurred six months before. They walked into the club area. The seating looked to be large enough to comfortably seat about 50-75 people around small tables with another 20 around the bar at the back of the room. In front was a small stage mostly filled with a baby grand, a tall chair, and a microphone stand. Everything in the room was rather dark with deep maroons and dark blues being the only colors. Most of the tables had a small battery operated candle screwed into the table to try to prevent it from leaving with a customer. 

Jane looked around the room and took in all its slightly shabby features, as well as those of its slightly shabby looking owner who was sitting at a table near the bar doing paperwork. George Calhoun looked older than the picture from his driver’s license that Abbott had showed them a week ago. 

The group walked over to the table and as they had decided on the way over, Jane would do the talking. “Mr. Calhoun? I’m Jake Patterson and these are my talented friends Terri Lipton and Denny Abbs.” 

Calhoun looked up from the invoices he was sorting, “Yeah, good to meet ya.” He gestured that they should join him at the table. 

Jane took a chair directly across from Calhoun and Lisbon sat between the two men but closer to Jane, while Abbott turned a chair around at the next table. 

Calhoun sorted through paper obviously looking for the contracts. “I’ve got the papers here. It’s the standard stuff. They’ll work two shows Friday and Saturday nights, one on Sunday, off Monday, one on Tuesday through Thursday. I’ll provide the piano, microphones and something to eat between the sets.” 

Jane looked through the contract carefully. He and Abbott had talked about this and Jane knew to look for anything that might be slightly off or wrong. However, it was what the guy said. The pay seemed bit low but given the condition of the place, it was probably what was expected. Jane nodded, “Seems okay. Do you have a changing area backstage? Is there a stage entrance for them to use?” 

Calhoun handed Jane a pen to sign as the agent and he signed quickly before handing it on to Lisbon and Abbott. None hesitated signing their aliases. Once Calhoun had the contracts, he gave them the tour. 

“There’s no separate outside entrance backstage but there’s a door off the front alcove that takes you down a hallway and backstage,” he explained as he led them down a long hall that ended at another door opening just off to the left of the stage and behind the edge of the curtain. Instead of going on stage, he turned slightly left and showed them a room with an old couch, a chair, and a privacy screen in one corner. 

“This is as close to a dressing room as we have.” 

They looked around the room quickly before stepping back out. “There’s also a bathroom back here that’s not open to the public,” Calhoun continued as he opened the next door. There was a third door but Calhoun had turned away and was walking up the two steps to the small stage. He looked at Abbott and said, “Denny? Right? This is my Baldwin baby grand. I just had it tuned about a month ago so it should work for you. Feel free to sit down.” 

Abbott did and began to play quietly. 

Jane looked back at the door and then at Calhoun. “Mr. Calhoun, I see another door. What’s behind it?”

Calhoun waved his hand in dismissal, “Oh, that’s just a storage closet. Nothing for you to worry about. If you want to get in a little rehearsal, feel free. I’ve got to get back to the bills.” 

Without a backward glance, the owner walked away leaving the three on stage. Jane and Lisbon exchanged glances before he stepped in and whispered to her, “Why don’t you two do whatever it is that singers and musicians do for a quick rehearsal and I’ll see what else I can find out.” 

They nodded to each other and Jane took the two steps down from the stage and slowly meandered to the back of the room taking in all the other people present. Besides Calhoun who had returned to his pile of papers, a bartender, janitor, and an older gentleman sitting at the end of the bar nursing what appeared to be a whiskey. As Jane neared the bar he sat down a few stools from the man with the whiskey, but close enough to realize that the guy was younger than he had first thought. Rather than being in his early 60s, the man was at least ten years younger. It was more an attitude that the he had. It was as if he was trying to make sure that he wasn’t noticed. 

The bartender approached and greeted him, “Hey, how’s it goin’? Can I get you something?” 

Jane nodded, “It’s okay. I’m Jake Patterson.” 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Phil Scott. Are you with them?” Phil pointed to the stage where Terri Lipton was singing a few bars of various songs and testing the microphone. He appeared to be in his late 30s with jet-black hair and blue eyes. With his chiseled chin and muscular build, Jane was sure that many of the females, and probably some of the males, came in just to see him. 

“Yeah. That’s Terri Lipton and Denny Abbs. I’m their manager,” he explained. 

Phil gestured toward the stage, “She doesn’t sound bad. So did you want anything?” 

“Just some water, please,” Jane replied. “We were surprised that a club like this was still around the area. Not many are left that want a torch singer like Terri.”

Phil responded as he finished pouring the water and placing it on the bar, “Yeah, well, George is kind of stuck in time here.” 

Jane sensed that Phil was not a big fan of the music. He seemed more heavy metal than Sinatra. 

When Phil stepped away, to go through a liquor order that had arrived, the man at the end of the counter volunteered, “Phil’s not a big fan of the standards but he’s okay. I’m Davey, by the way.” 

“Good to know you, Davey,” Jane acknowledged. 

Davey turned and listened as Terri Lipton was laughing at something that Denny Abbs had said to her. The comm in his ear had already become so normal to Jane that he was no longer paying attention to the voices except when they were directed to him so he had no idea what had been so funny. 

“I’ve been watching singers come and go in this area for a long time and I don’t recall her,” Davey observed. 

“She’s not from here,” Jane explained. “Terri worked in northern California and Washington state. We just came into the area.” 

“Oh, well, that explains it,” Davey said with a smile. “She looks like she’s a bit of spitfire.”

Jane shrugged and, knowing the Lisbon could hear him but had to pretend that she couldn’t, and smiled, “Well, she can definitely breathe fire when she wants.” 

Davey chuckled, “I had a wife like that. Spent a lot of time on the couch.” 

Jane nodded and, again, to tweak a certain brunette he said, “I’m sure that a man would need to log many hours on a couch for this one, too.” 

At that moment, the janitor who had finished running an electric broom throughout most of the club started working in the area near the bar. Davey said to him, “Mike, this is Jake. He manages the lady singer.” 

Mike was a small bear of a man who looked to be in his early 70s. Jane decided that he had probably worked in some sort of factory that had closed before he could make enough for a decent retirement so he had had to resort to jobs like this to make ends meet. He wasn’t that interested in hearing the music or the people at the bar. He grunted at Jane and Davey while he rearranged the chairs and continued to sweep the floors. 

Jane decided not to press too much more because he didn’t want to be obvious in his questions. However, he did turn back to the bar and noticed that Phil had left eight bottles of mid-priced whiskey on the counter and he was walking to a doorway to the right of the stage with the empty crate. He frowned and looked around the bar some more. 

To Mike he said, “Where’s Phil going?” 

Mike answered in a tone that said since he didn’t care, he didn’t know why anyone else would care. “Dumpster. The kitchen’s back there and the dumpster is outside the kitchen.”

Getting up and walking toward the kitchen, Jane said curiously, “There’s a kitchen? So what gets served?” 

Mike replied again in a tone that said he didn’t care about this conversation, “Just some sandwiches and chips. We don’t like to waste money on things that double the workload.” 

As Jane was looking through the window of the kitchen door, a voice behind him said, “Was there something more I could do for you?” 

Jane jumped and turned to see Phil standing there. “Where did you come from? I thought you went out to the dumpster.”

“I did, but now I’m back,” Phil replied in the same tone one would use with a small child. 

“I hope you were on the track team because you moved pretty fast to get around the front to come in.” 

“Nah, I just know how to go back and forth through the tunnels,” Phil said. 

“Tunnels?” Jane asked. 

“Well, passageways,” Phil corrected himself. “This place was a speakeasy back in the 1920s during prohibition. There’s a lot of ways in and out if you know where to look.” 

“Ahh! That’s different,” said Jane. 

“Anyway, I’ll see you later, Jake,” Phil said as he gestured to the bar where a young slim man with red hair was finishing putting away the liquor order and wiping down the bar as he chatted with Davey. “Tom’s coming on duty now and I’ll be back later when we start to get busy.”

Phil left and Jane walked back to the bar. He was aware that Calhoun was watching him so he decided to just sit down at a table in front of the bar and watch Lisbon and Abbott as they appeared to finish what they were doing. They stepped down off the stage and came up to Jane’s table. 

“I think we’re done now,” Lisbon said looking at Abbott who nodded in confirmation.

Jane hopped to his feet and looked over to Calhoun. “Okay, we’ll be back for the first set.” 

Calhoun nodded and waved as if he wasn’t that interested, but Jane knew he would probably have to step carefully this evening to avoid suspicion. 

The two agents and consultant left the bar and were in the car before Abbott said, “Okay, Jane, what do you think?” 

Jane smiled. “Let’s plan on making the drug arrest tomorrow night.” 

Abbott grinned. “Figured it out already?”

Jane shrugged. “Well, the ‘how’ and the ‘when,’ I just have to make sure we get all the right players for the ‘who.’ I should be able to do that by tomorrow night.” He paused and added, “And then we can turn all our attention to finding the bastard that hates women.” 

The three drove out of the lot and drove around for about a mile before circling into the alley across the street and pulling up behind the bar opposite the Noted Lady. Walking in through it’s kitchen entrance, they were completely unseen from the street in front. 

Inside what had been the kitchen, laptops lined the long prep tables and three young analysts besides Wylie, who was still looking at dumpster footage, slumped over them clicking through photographs and video tape. Abbott went over to Fischer and asked for any new information. 

Grimly, Fischer reported: “We’ve received word from the hospital that the last woman brought in has died.” 

“I didn’t think her injuries were life threatening,” responded Lisbon. 

Fischer replied, “They weren’t. However, she had a heart condition and the drug cocktail interfered with her heart meds.” 

Abbott brought the focus back to the job at hand. “Okay, people, this is now a murder investigation. Let’s get to work.” 

Fischer handed him a small group of files. “We’ve run complete checks on everyone working at the club. It wasn’t that hard because there aren’t that many people on the payroll.” 

Abbott looked at the top file and said the name aloud. “Phil Scott.”

Fischer recited the basic contents that were in the file. “38. Single; never married, but was engaged once to a local socialite who dumped him when her father threatened to cut her off. He’s worked in bars and nightclubs for about 15 years. Born in Houston and moved here after high school to get away from his aunt who raised him in a strict household. No record. His online habits have him at the usual stuff like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google and Amazon, but also at some slightly seedier fantasy sites.” 

Abbott nodded and read the next name, “Mike, the janitor.”

“Full name is Michael Winston. He’s 73; divorced three times. No children. He was laid off from a tool and die factory in 1994. He can’t afford to be completely retired so he started doing cleaning jobs. He’s been at the Noted Lady for 15 years. He had two arrests; one for domestic violence with his second wife and the other for blocking the entrance to a machine shop during a strike.” 

Abbott, again, nodded and moved on. “David Murray?”

Fischer smiled, “That’s the customer that Jane was talking to at the bar. A couple days ago, Cho was in and managed to lift his prints. Davey, as he calls himself, 51, worked as a writing instructor at a community college for a few years before he went into insurance. In college, he was arrested for possession of narcotics with intent to sell. He had the record sealed but we managed to get it opened enough to get the basic facts. Last year he went into semi-retirement. Doesn’t take on any new clients. He married once but his wife left him and moved out-of-state. There’s no paperwork on a divorce so she may be waiting for him to pay for it.” 

The largest file was George Calhoun. Abbott opened it and asked, “Have we found out any new information?”

Fischer shook her head. “Not much. We know that he was born in Houston, has worked all through the south and the east coast. He never married but was involved in a long-term affair with the wife of a local county commissioner before she died of cancer last year.” 

Cho walked up with another file. “I just finished putting this together. Tom McNolt. 26. Born and raised in Austin. Lives with his girlfriend. No arrests.”

“What about waitresses? I’m assuming we still have to meet them as well as the kitchen help,” Lisbon said. 

Cho responded, “There are three waitresses and two cooks.” He walked over to the counter and added their files to the stack. “All are clean. The waitresses are all older women who worked at the Noted Lady for the previous owner as did one of the cooks. The other one started last year. Again, no red flags.” 

Jane turned to Wylie, “Wylie, could you check on something for me?” At Wylie’s eager nod he continued, “I’m willing to bet that in the last ten years, the club has had some sort of improvement or repair that required a work order from the city. Could you check and see if blueprints of the building were submitted? I’d like to take a look at those.” 

“Sure thing, Jane,” Wylie replied. He was glad of the break from looking at the dumpster filling and emptying. 

Cocking her head to the side, Lisbon looked at Jane and asked, “Care to share with the rest of the class?” 

He gave her a slow grin and responded, “Just checking a few things that I’m sure will confirm my theory.” 

She nodded. “While you’re waiting on Wylie, do you want to go over the assault files with me? I think we need to pin down the assailant’s M.O. and figure out when he’s going to strike again.” 

Turning serious, Jane agreed. “Let me get a cup of tea and we’ll get to work. Coffee?” 

She sighed, “Always.”

She cleared a spot on the counter in the corner and the two partners sorted and worked through the files once more. They looked at each assault and compared it to the others. 

They had been looking at the files for about an hour when Jane noticed that Lisbon kept frowning and flipping each to the comments of the friends of the survivors. She looked up and caught him staring at her. “What?” 

Jane returned, “Something’s bothering you about the witness statements.” 

She sighed. “In every case it seems to me that the one who is making the most noise; making the biggest scene; basic center of attention is NOT the one that ends up attacked. The one attacked is usually the quiet one or the one blending into the background. Does that mean that the attacker is picking off the easiest one or is there something more to it?” 

As she spoke, he looked at the statements. “You’re right. I’m not sure what that would mean, but it’s got to mean something.” 

Abbott came over to them and reminded them that they had to get ready for their evening. They started packing up just as Wylie called out to Jane, “I think I found what you wanted on the building.”

Jane walked over and looked at Wylie’s screen. “Can that be sent to my phone?”

“Sure, do you want it sent to yours or Jake Patterson’s?” Wylie asked.

“Send it to Jake’s. And thanks, Wylie.” Jane said as he caught up with Abbott and Lisbon who were walking out the door.

It was time to get ready for the first performance. 

 

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so the last chapter wasn’t that-- well-- exciting. I know. However, I hope you slogged through it because it did give you background for some of the characters. Here’s hoping this one will be a bit livelier. Archijenn
> 
> Oops! One more note: In this chapter, there is one spot that may slightly dance the edge of an ‘M’ rating. In my opinion, the scene is very loving and simply shows the obvious romantic side of Jisbon. I apologize if anyone is offended. It was never my intent. 
> 
> Cheers! Archijenn

7:00 that evening saw Lisbon rushing around the bedroom and throwing things into a large shoulder bag. She picked up her black stilettos, sat on the edge of the bed, and put them on as Jane started to walk into the bedroom. He stopped and could only stare opened mouth at her. 

“What? Is my hair wrong? Makeup too much? What? What’s wrong?!” Teresa felt confident in normal day-to-day clothes and even not so bad in normal party clothes, but this was more. This was --well-- theatrical. She knew she’d had to do more but hoped she hadn’t gone over the top. 

Patrick’s eyes were wide and his voice was a bit raspy as he tried to speak and reassure her, “Nothing is wrong. You. Look. Amazing.” 

She was wearing the black cocktail dress that she and Agent Fischer had agreed upon. The slightly plunging V-neck had cap sleeves and cinched at the waist before it dropped straight to above the knee with a slit running up the right side. The black pumps with spiked heels were worn with off-black hose. Her makeup featured a slight sparkle to the muted eye shadow with her bright green eyes framed in black mascara and deepest green eyeliner and lipstick a soft red. Her hair was up in a soft chignon with strategically placed loose corkscrew curls surrounding her face. It was the type of look that made her seem very sexy but also very approachable to an audience. She appeared to be the woman every other woman wanted to be and the one every man wanted to have on his arm-- and in his bed. 

“You’re sure?” she asked. 

He continued to run his eyes over her and nodded, “Sweetheart, if we didn’t have a case and earwigs in right now, I would make sure you knew just how great you look and we wouldn’t leave this room for a week!” 

“Patrick, stop it!” she said with a blush and automatically checked to make sure that she still hadn’t turned on her comm for the evening. 

He shrugged, “I’m a man in love with a beautiful woman. These things will get said.” He looked at the bedside clock and continued in a more professional tone, “We should get going.” 

She added a pair of black flats to her bag and turned to leave the room before she got her first good look at him since he’d finished getting ready in the living room. It was her turn to pick her mouth up off the floor. It wasn’t that she ever forgot that Patrick Jane was a handsome man, but there were days when it wasn’t as blatant as it was at this moment. 

Patrick wore a black suit with a black vest and a crisp white shirt with the top shirt button open and a slightly loosened black tie at the neck. It all just begged Teresa to rip off the tie, open more buttons, and nuzzle his throat. His golden locks were brushed to a shine and the devil almost seemed to have a halo’s glow around his head. When he saw her reaction he gave her a slow wink knowing that she was the one who had just reminded them to turn on their comms. She settled for running her hand down his chest as she walked by and saying, “Mmm. Very nice, Mr. Jane.” 

They picked up Abbott who also “cleaned up well,” as his mother would say, and arrived at the club about a half hour before their first set. Calhoun was at the end of the bar next to the entry alcove and nodded to them as they entered and went off to the side hall that would lead them backstage. 

They snuck a peek from behind the curtain and saw that the club was almost completely filled. This did not help Lisbon whose nerves seem to get tighter and tighter with every tick of the clock toward 8:00. As she set her purse down on the low table in the lounge room, Abbott could see her hand trembling. Because they couldn’t be completely sure that there were no hidden cameras or microphones back here, they had agreed earlier to stay as much in character as possible which is why he said, “Hey, Terri, you okay?” 

She seemed startled and confused for a second as she looked up at him, “What? Huh? Oh, yeah,” she tried to swallow and calm herself, “I’m fine. It’s just been a while.” 

Jane turned her so that he could get a good look at her face and her eyes while he kept a hand on the pulse point of her wrist. “I’m not so sure.” 

Lisbon looked into his eyes and couldn’t hide the fear. He knew she was getting more and more frightened and might not be able to go on if this continued. He whispered softly hoping no one would hear but the tactical team across the street, “Teresa, turn off your comm for a minute.” 

She nodded and turned hers off as he turned off his. He continued to keep his face close to hers and asked her, “Do you want me to help you? I won’t do it, unless you want me to.” 

She knew what he was asking. Did she want him to try to hypnotize her? She looked in his eyes and thought for a moment. She knew that she was being silly with this stage fright but she also knew that it was important that she complete her assignment. She looked back at Abbott who watched both of them knowing he was helpless. At her gesture, he came close, turned off his comm and she whispered, “Will I be compromised for trial if Jane gives me a hypnotic suggestion?” 

He stepped back for a moment and thought about this. “If you do this in my presence, and it’s very specific, we should be fine.” He silently added that even if they weren’t fine, the woman couldn’t go on stage like this so none of it would matter anyway. 

Lisbon turned back to Jane and whispered, “Okay, do it.” 

Jane had hypnotized Lisbon once a long time ago. She went under the trance successfully but because she had been unknowingly drugged during the timeframe of a memory they were trying to recover, the experiment had failed. He hoped he could still put her under. 

He leaned in until his face was about six inches from hers and he whispered, “Teresa, I want you to relax and look into my eyes. Let everything else fade away and just listen to my voice. It’s just the two of us and the sound of my voice. Nothing else matters and nothing else exists.”

He watched closely as her pupils started to dilate and her lids started to open and close more slowly.

“That’s right. It’s just the two of us in the safest place imaginable. Can you see it? It’s beautiful, warm, soft, and we’re the only two people on the planet who can be here. Are you with me there?”

Her eyes drifted close and she dropped her head to his shoulder. He glanced at Abbott and gave the slightest nod of the head. Abbott was fascinated. He had never been present when Jane did this and had to admit that he was glad he couldn’t hear everything Jane said [even though he would swear in court that he had] and wasn’t in the direct path of those eyes saying it. 

Jane bent his head and whispered in Lisbon’s ear, “You are confident in your talents and you want to do your best. You are calm and ready to sing in front of people. You won’t let fear paralyze you. Do you understand, Teresa?”

“Yes, Patrick,” she responded. 

“When I bring you back you’ll remember that you were hypnotized and that you feel better. You won’t try and fight that feeling and you will forgive me for forgetting to pick up the towels in the bathroom when we get back to the apartment-- in five-- four-- three-- two-- one,” he squeezed her shoulder and she brought her head back up and looked at him. 

“I know I was going under, but I don’t quite remember what you said. Do you think it worked?” she quietly asked. 

He smiled because he had been holding her wrist and had felt her pulse rate drop to only a slightly elevated but steady beat. “I think it will be enough to help you.” 

She smiled back. “I love you, you know.” 

Still grinning he chuckled and said, “What a funny coincidence because I happen to love you, too.” 

Abbott waited until they had exchanged a gentle kiss before he broke in with a whisper, “Okay, guys, we should break this up a bit. Calhoun will be here any minute.” 

Lisbon and Jane turned their earwigs back on as they stepped back. She took a deep breath and smiled. “Thank you.” 

“Any time, sweetheart,” he said with a smooth grin. 

A knock on the door was the only warning they had that Calhoun was coming into the room. He looked at the two men standing side by side while the woman was checking her lipstick. He smiled the first friendly smile they had seen from him and he said, “Okay, it’s show time. Let’s hear some good tunes, shall we?” 

He walked out and the three followed him. Jane gave Lisbon’s arm a quick squeeze before he started back down the hallway to the front where he would go to the bar to watch the set, and sadly but more importantly, the room. Abbott gave Lisbon a quick and surprising wink before he stepped quietly out front and sat down at the piano and started to play. As the room began to quiet and only the occasional “clink” of a glass could be heard, Calhoun stepped on the stage, walked around the piano, and picked up the microphone. “Good evening, folks. I’m so glad you decided to come this evening. I think we have a real treat for you. We just booked a wonderful singer. It’s her first time performing in the Austin area so I want you to make sure you give a warm Texas welcome to Miss-- Terri-- Lipton.” 

As the audience applauded, Lisbon stepped out onto the stage, smiled at Calhoun who gave her a brief almost air kiss to the cheek, took the microphone, and immediately went into her first song, “Fly Me to the Moon.” 

Jane decided that as his alias, Jake Patterson, was Terri Lipton’s manager it was okay for him to take a minute and marvel at her transformation. Her voice sounded good, she looked wonderful, and she took ownership of the stage. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch her. When she finished, he wanted to shout to the crowd, “That woman is going home with ME!” Instead, he applauded enthusiastically and watched as she took her seat next to the piano and began talking to the audience.

“Thank you. It’s great to be here tonight and wonderful to have moved to Austin. Everyone has been very kind,” she stopped and took a sip from water that she had poured from a fresh bottle and into a clear glass. “That was, of course, ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ and doesn’t love do that to us all at times? It makes us want to fly to the moon and do all kinds of things-- even stuff that some may find, well, crazy.” 

She nodded to Abbott and went into “Crazy He Calls Me.” She was getting used to the soft spotlight on her but she still couldn’t see a lot from her vantage point. Basically, the folks at the front table were about it. She could make out a few people in the very back near the bar because the pot lights were still on. That meant she knew where Patrick was, as well as, Phil, Tom, Davey, Calhoun, and the rest sitting there. The middle area of the room was a complete black hole. 

After the song ended, she again chatted with the audience. “Thank you. Listen, while you’re in such a generous mood, I’d like to introduce my favorite pianist and arranger who also comes here from out west, the Keeper of the Keys, Mr. Denny Abbs.” 

Abbott turned and acknowledged the applause. “You know I’m glad you decided to take this gig, Terri.” 

“Really? And why is that?”

“This crowd seems to like our kind of music.” 

“You mean standards and torch songs?” she questioned. 

“Ohhh, yeah,” he answered as he continued to play what seemed aimlessly for few minutes as background to their conversation. 

After those few minutes, they moved into the next song, and Jane continued to survey the room. Phil and Tom had a well-rehearsed dance going behind the bar as they took drink orders from those at the bar and the three waitresses. The waitresses were able to move from table to table filling orders so quietly that it was hardly noticed. Between songs, they would rush in and out of the kitchen to pick up and give orders. Meanwhile, George Calhoun stood near the door and watched over his employees and customers. 

At one point, as both Calhoun and Jane were watching, they’re eyes made contact. Jane immediately smiled and gave him thumbs up signals. Calhoun nodded but continued to watch the room until someone came in and attracted his attention. Jane couldn’t make out who it was, but he did see Calhoun nod and take a thick envelope and put it in his pocket, before returning to the bar alone. 

The set ended and some customers came to the stage to greet Terri Lipton and Denny Abbs. They shook hands and talked to them for a few minutes before they both stepped down from the stage and into the club to circulate amongst the tables. They finally made it to the bar where Calhoun was standing. 

“That was a very good opener,” he told them. “You two work well together. Can I have the kitchen get you something to eat?” 

Denny asked for a turkey sandwich but Terri declined. Calhoun stopped a waitress named Ginger and gave her the order. He gave the room a quick scan before he said, “I’m not sure where Jake is. He was back here at the bar a few minutes ago, but I seem to have lost him.” 

“Oh, he probably stepped outside,” Terri explained. “He likes to go out after a set and here what those leaving and others who are having a cigarette are saying. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” 

A voice in her ear said, “Thanks for the cover. I should be back in a few minutes.” 

Calhoun chatted with them for a few more minutes, explaining that the early set customers were always older than the later set. “The late set is usually made up of thirty-somethings who’ve read about Sinatra and the Rat Pack and dream that they could have been part of that. We sell more booze on the second set.” 

“Good to know,” Abbott said with a nod. 

Ginger came back with the plate containing a turkey sandwich with a side of chips. Abbott asked Phil for bottles of water for he and Lisbon just as Jane came strolling through the door. 

He smiled at Calhoun and said, “I was outside eavesdropping on the customers as they were leaving. I think they were pretty pleased with this lovely lady.” 

He smiled at Lisbon and gave her a small wink as Calhoun walked away to talk with some steady customers. As he was leaving, Davey came in and sat in his customary seat at the bar. “Hey there, Ms. Lipton, You sounded very good.” 

He nodded at Abbott but kept his focus on Terri. She got the feeling that he was inventorying all her features. “Thank you, sir. I’m glad you liked it.” 

Davey laughed and shook his head, “Oh, sorry. I should have introduced myself. I’m Davey. I like to hang out here and listen to the music.”

Lisbon smiled back. “Nice to meet you, Davey. This is Denny Abbs.” 

Davey shook Abbott’s hand. “I liked that bridge you had in “Get Happy.” Whose arrangement was that?”

Abbott appreciated the question, “Well, Davey, believe it or not, it’s mine. I like to tweak some songs to better suit Terri’s range.” 

Davey looked impressed. “Well, it did the job.” 

Abbott smiled again and thanked him before he and Lisbon left to go backstage. 

Now that Jane could demonstrate how the drugs were moved, he needed to work on who was involved in the trafficking. He had some clues and a theory. With luck, he should be able to nail it down during the second set. 

More and more people were coming into the club. The seats vacated by some of the older folks in the early evening were filled and the same was true of the bar. It was a slightly better dressed crowd of thirty- and forty-somethings who seemed to have a sort of desperate-to-have-a-good-time quality about them. 

Jane managed to grab a spot at the bar next to Davey and near Calhoun’s spot and he ordered a club soda from Phil. As he looked out over the crowd, he could pick out other undercover agents. Cho and Fischer were sitting at a table giving their drink and food order to Barbara while at another table Wylie and two of the young female agents who helped with tactical support sat at a table in another corner of the room. The entire room was covered. 

Calhoun slipped away, appeared on stage, and once again introduced Terri Lipton. The applause was polite, but unlike earlier, this crowd expected something before they would be too friendly. And Lisbon delivered. She started with a Sinatra standard, “I Get a Kick Out of You” and moved on to “Cry Me a River” followed by “Witchcraft.” 

Lisbon was so captivating that it became obvious for Jane to know who was there for the music and the club scene and who was there for other reasons. When the set finally ended with “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You,” Jane was sure he had one half of the case solved. 

The second set crowd was much more active in their applause at the end and Terri Lipton spent about an hour talking to people before they finally made their way to Jane who was standing next to Calhoun and Davey. Calhoun seemed quietly pleased while Davey just stared at Lisbon and shook his head. “That was terrific!” 

Eventually, they made their way backstage again where they gathered up their belongings. Lisbon changed to her black flats so she wouldn’t have to rely on the guys any longer to keep her from falling, and they left the club. 

They stopped along the way and picked up some carryout before heading to Jake and Terri’s apartment where they decided to go over the evening, make notes, and video conference with Cho, Fischer, and Wylie. 

“Jane, you’re looking pretty pleased with yourself right now,” Abbott said between bites of pasta. “Want to share with the class.” 

“Sure,” he replied and turned the laptop so that he could see the other agents. “The drugs are being delivered by the liquor distributor in the cases with the booze. It was pretty obvious.”

Fischer shook her head, “Jane, we checked the distributor and its drivers. Everyone was clean and the cases still had their seals.” 

Jane, who was busy trying to get some of the penne from Abbott, replied, “It wouldn’t be that difficult to fake the seals and no record just means they haven’t been caught yet.” 

Kim had now worked with Jane long enough to know that he wasn’t usually wrong but she still wasn’t ready to concede yet. “Or the seals are real and everyone is clean.” 

Jane turned back to the monitor and stared at her. “It’s the only thing that makes sense given the evidence.” 

“What evidence?” Fischer demanded. 

Lisbon hoping to fast track the discussion stepped in. “I think what Jane means is that in this case, given what we know, this scenario makes the most sense.” 

Jane nodded and continued eating as Fischer gave up. She addressed her next question to Abbott. “Sir? How do you want to proceed with this?”

“Let’s have a car with blackout windows in the parking lot near the dumpster. We’ll set up some cameras and catch the perps on film putting the drugs in the dumpster. When we have that side of the equation on film, we will quietly take the person into custody. We don’t want anyone aware of what we’re doing. Then we’ll wait until the hauler comes and empties the dumpster and we’ll follow him until we catch him with the drugs.” Abbott concluded by saying, “Once we get one person to talk, I’m sure we’ll get the whole operation.” 

“But we’re going to continue undercover to find the rapist, right?” Cho asked. 

Abbott nodded, “Yes. We need to find out how the date-rape drugs are involved in this and the best way to do that is to be in the club watching over the female customers.” 

Cho said, “We’ve developed a schedule for the next few nights so the same people are not in there all the time.”

Fischer added, “Our folks are now fighting to get this duty. Terri Lipton and Denny Abbs are a hot ticket here. Lisbon, I was amazed at how calm and comfortable you’ve become on stage without alcohol. We’re not going to lose you to the limelight, are we?” 

Lisbon and Jane exchanged a look. Jane could see that her pupils were still dilated and knew that the hypnosis was still working, but he doubted anyone else would see it and he knew Abbott wasn’t going to say anything unless forced. 

Lisbon smiled at Kim and said, “Thanks, but I don’t think you have to worry about me staying in show business. The shoes kill my feet.” 

On that happier note, they made the final arrangements for the next evening and signed off. Abbott stayed a little longer to share some of the evening with his two partners before he left to go down to his studio. 

Teresa and Patrick cleared the dinner debris away and went into the bedroom. They talked quietly about the evening. She went into the bathroom and spotted the towels on the floor, picked them up and put them in the laundry basket before she brushed her teeth. Patrick noticed as he undressed and felt a very slight twinge of guilt that he’d managed to get out of trouble through hypnotic suggestion. However, given the things he COULD have suggested she do for him, he thought he should be commended for his restraint. 

When it was his turn in the tiny bathroom, Patrick went in and brushed his teeth. He came back out and he found Teresa humming quietly and brushing her hair. She had put away her outfit and was wearing a short pink satin nightie. He felt a warm glow pass through his body as he watched her. He came up to her, where she stood in front of the dingy old mirror that was part of the furniture packet for the apartment, and took over for her. “Keep humming,” he said softly. 

She hummed a quiet version of “Our Love is Here to Stay” while he gently ran the brush through her hair and massaged her scalp as she watched. Soon he put the brush down, moved her hair back a delicately nibbled at her ear and neck while his hands came around her and palmed and stroked her breasts. 

When she could no longer remain passive, she turned and kissed him as her hands roamed through his hair. She pushed him back until he was forced to sit on the end of the bed. She stood over him and tossed her nightie over her head, only breaking eye contact briefly when the satin passed over her face. He pulled her toward him and she allowed him to rain kisses over her midsection before he began licking her breasts and running his hands over her hips and bottom. 

She pulled back, looking at him, and seeing the love and lust in his eyes, she decided that he needed to be pampered, too. She motioned for him to move back on the bed and she crawled on to the bed on her hands and knees to stay over him. Using her mouth, tongue, and hands she brought both of them to the brink before she finally settled herself on him and, watching him the entire time, she took them to their final climax. 

As their breathing and heart rates returned to a more normal pattern she slid to his side but couldn’t quite stop kissing and caressing his chest as he continued to keep his arms around her and stroke her back and rub his cheek on hair. 

“I think I’m addicted to you,” she said with a sigh. 

He chuckled, “Well don’t count on me to find you a treatment program. I’d much rather enable you.” 

“Thank God,” she responded. “I love you, my darling tormentor.” 

“And I love you, my temptress.” he replied before the both drifted to sleep. 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Fly Me to the Moon” -- [on youtube.com] /watch?v=mhujM7T1_fQ  
> “Crazy He Calls Me” -- [on youtube.com] /watch?v=ejuWKZaY5OU  
> “Get Happy” -- [on youtube.com] /watch?v=2U-rBZREQMw  
> “I Get a Kick Out of You” -- [on youtube.com] /watch?v=WhqJ_fK1zv8  
> “Cry Me a River” -- [on youtube.com] /watch?v=E9VBwySZmzw  
> “Witchcraft” -- [on youtube.com] /watch?v=oFmNgiEgPoQ  
> “You’re Nobody Til Somebody Loves You” -- [on youtube.com] /watch?v=jAnu6B0dLMo  
> “Our Love is Here to Stay” -- [on youtube.com] /watch?v=at3DdAQseGs


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay. I always hate it when my employer expects me to do my job. ;-) Hopefully, I'll get more up in a much timelier manner. 
> 
> To those who asked about "earwigs," believe it or not, I did my research and discovered that this is a popular name for the communication device that undercover operatives use. Among my friends I'm rather well-known distaste for creepy crawlers, so it just seemed right to use the term. 
> 
> And to those who have been so kind with their comments so far, thank you. It is most appreciated. This is a great escape for a woman who normally writes local and regional history. That someone else is enjoying it is a great bonus. 
> 
> As always, I await Bruno's call.
> 
> Cheers! Archijenn

Heading into the club for their second evening of shows, the excitement was still there if for another reason. The van with the cameras was in position in the parking lot; set up to film the dumpster from all angles. Before or during the second set, the first part of the drug bust would most likely occur. 

Abbott, Lisbon, and Jane had all agreed to be extra careful not to let on that they knew what was happening. If everything went according to plan, no one in the club would be aware of what was happening until after the take down. Hopefully, even then, only those most closely involved would be aware that something had happened. 

As they arrived backstage, they were greeted by George Calhoun carrying small slips of paper in his hand. “Hello, Terri. I’ve got some notes for you from some of our customers who were here last night and returned this evening.” 

Before Lisbon could even remove her coat, he was handing them to her. She sat down on one of the two chairs and looked at the scribbled notes on scraps of paper and cocktail napkins. Most were kind words saying they very much enjoyed her sets and a few were requests for songs. A few more were warmer praises and invitations to sit at tables with various groups. She was rather surprised and she looked a bit confused as she handed them to Abbott and turned back to Calhoun. “Wow. This is a bit of surprise.” 

Calhoun smiled at her and shrugged. “I have to confess. The last few singers we’ve had here have been at LEAST 15 years older than you and I think some people are getting a little excited about having a younger woman who looks and dresses like you do. However, the ones I hope you’ll really look at are the requests. I’m not sure if you’re prepared to do them, but if you could find a way to acknowledge the anniversaries and birthdays, I’m sure they’ll be happy.”

Abbott who had been reading them carefully to look for any signs of troubled minds responded. “We’ll go through them and see what we can do. A lot of the requests look like things that we’ve done before.” As Abbott saw it, this was also a test by Calhoun to see just how deep their playbook was and he wasn’t going to let them fail and have Calhoun start questioning them at this late date. 

Meanwhile, Jane was finally getting a look at the napkins. Most were innocent enough but a couple sounded like they were from some lechers who thought that a club singer would be willing to do a bit extra for a big enough tip. He was definitely going to keep a close eye on things tonight. 

“Well, thanks, Calhoun, I’m sure Denny and Terri will take care of this,” Jane said and   
ushered the club owner out of the room. 

As Jane turned around, he caught his first glimpse of Lisbon for the evening. He had been downstairs with Abbott working on the evening’s operation while she was getting ready and she met them downstairs wearing a trench coat so he hadn’t seen this outfit. “My God, woman! Are you trying to kill me?” 

Lisbon had decided that the forest green silk slip dress would be perfect for a Saturday night crowd. “Are you saying you don’t like it?” She pretended to question. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he more than liked it. 

He had watched her through much of the day and knew that the hypnotic suggestions that he had implanted were still very much in place so he wasn’t too worried about her confidence. However, he was worried about his sanity with her onstage looking like the embodiment of sex appeal. 

Abbott, a VERY happily married man, had to admit that Lisbon looked gorgeous so he decided to step in before Jane could say something that would be taken the wrong way. “I think the problem is that he likes it way, way too much.” 

Jane silently thanked Abbott for helping to rescue him and said, “Sweetheart, you’re beautiful. I just wish I wasn’t sharing you with a room full of strangers.” 

Lisbon stepped close to him and said, “Just remember, that while everyone else should look but not touch, you get to do both-- later.” 

Jane almost moaned out loud, stopping himself only because he could hear giggling in his ear and knew that Fischer had joined the group in tactical with Wylie and Cho. Instead, he gave her a quick hard kiss before releasing her and heading out front. 

Abbott and Lisbon discussed the requests and decided that they could do a couple of them and the others they would mention with good wishes and play a song that would more generally cover all the requests. Calhoun came back in the middle of their conversation and waited until they were finished before telling them it was time. 

Jane was in place at the bar as Lisbon came out on stage. He felt an eager level of testosterone rise in the building even among the elderly men who probably hadn’t thought that they could have such a feeling at their age without the use of pharmaceuticals. He turned to the bar and noticed that Phil and Davey were watching Lisbon intently, but Tom was busy filling drink orders and shifting stuff around behind the bar. 

The place was once again practically at maximum capacity with only a few empty chairs and no empty tables, creating a number of new acquaintance introductions, “Excuse me? Is this seat taken? Would you mind if we joined you?” 

Jane recognized a number of the faces in the crowd from the previous evening. One face he was surprised to see was that of the janitor, Mike. However, there he was sitting at a table with a young man who Jane remembered from the second set last night. An older couple who looked to be in their late 70s approached the twosome and were obviously asking if they could sit down. At first, it appeared that Mike was saying no, but the younger man smiled and gestured to the couple to join them. Jane filed this away for further study as he continued to visually sweep the room. 

Lisbon finished her opening number, “‘S Wonderful,” and began talking to the audience. “Thank you so much for being here tonight. It IS wonderful to see you all.” She put up her hand to shield her eyes a bit from the spotlight and looked around the room as she added, “I believe I see some of you who were here last night, too. Denny is irresistible, isn’t he?” 

There were some chuckles from the crowd and a few wolf whistles from some of the ladies proving that her remark wasn’t without merit. Abbott who was playing some quiet chords in the background, grinned and thanked everyone. 

Jane continued to let his eyes move over the crowd looking for anomalies. As he watched, he saw a young woman in her twenties slip in, give a brief nod to Calhoun, and stand at the bar. She caught Tom’s eye and he walked over and said something to her. She whispered back in his ear and he nodded and went back to work. 

Jane assumed she was his girlfriend. She was slender with short dyed blonde hair. She dressed in black slacks and a white blouse and Jane guessed she waitressed somewhere. Through the white sleeves, dark ink of tattoos was visible. Her makeup was very harsh and while she was probably in her mid-twenties, it aged her another ten years. She seemed very nervous and her eyes darted around the room every minute or so. 

Jane let himself listen to the short conversation as Lisbon thanked the audience for their kind notes and said, “You know I received a request from a couple who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this week. Martin and Eileen, are you here?” 

Lisbon, again, shielded her eyes from the spotlight and looked for the couple. The couple that had begged for seats at Mike’s table shyly raised their hands and the audience applauded and cheered. Teresa used the moment to step off the stage and come to the table. “Congratulations!” 

“So you’ve been married for fifty years. How long did you know each other before you were married?” She asked and held out the microphone to the to answer. 

The man and woman looked at each other and the man, Martin, replied, “Well, Miss Lipton, we had known each other for about ten years before we married but it was less than two years before our wedding that we admitted that we loved each other.” 

Eileen leaned over and said, “We met after Martin’s first wife was killed in a robbery. I was a secretary for the sheriff and Martin came in often to follow-up on the case and make sure that they found the robbers.” 

“And did they?” Lisbon had to ask. 

Martin’s nodded, “Oh, yes. I wasn’t resting until they found the guys. Lois and I had been high school sweethearts and only married a few months when the robbery occurred. You can’t just let go of something like that.” 

Lisbon agreed. “No, I wouldn’t suppose you could.” 

Martin continued, “Anyway, every time I came to the sheriff’s office, this kind young woman always made a point to talk to me. Sometimes I just needed someone to listen to me and that’s what she did. She saved me.” 

Few seemed unmoved by Martin’s confession and Teresa found her eyes filled with unshed tears as Eileen reached over and kissed him gently on the cheek. “We fell in love gradually and when Martin’s company transferred him to Austin, we decided that we couldn’t be separated so I came to Austin, too, found a job, and about a year later we married.” 

Lisbon’s smile was warm as she looked at the couple and said, “The waiting and the work were with it, yes?” 

Eileen looked at Martin and said, “Oh yes. No can be happy every day of the year, but if you fall in love with the right person, you have someone to help you climb out of the deep holes.” 

Lisbon couldn’t stop herself from looking in Jane’s direction and he gave he a slow smile in response. “I don’t think I could have put that better myself, Eileen.” 

Lisbon turned towards Abbott and said, “Denny, I believe we have a song request for these two lovers, don’t we?” 

Abbott smiled and said, “Yes, we do,” as he went into the introduction of “I Could Write a Book.” Lisbon and the audience encouraged the couple to come to the open area of the floor for a dance. 

She began singing, “If they asked me, I could write a book/ About the way you walk and whisper and look. / I could write a preface on how we met, / So the world would never forget. / And the simple secret of the plot; / Is just to tell them that I love you a lot. / Then the world discovers as my book ends, / How to make two lovers of friends …” 

As the song and the dance continued, Lisbon moved back to the stage. When it ended the couple turned to her and thanked her and returned to their seats as the audience gave one final cheer and many used their cocktail napkins to dab away a tear or two. 

Lisbon continued through her set being more interactive with the audience than the night before. Her movements and the audience reactions were being closely scrutinized by the agents sprinkled through the crowd and the consultant at the bar. She and Abbott were three quarters of the way through the set when Jane noticed that the bar was short a bartender and he whispered quietly, “Look alive, everyone, I think we’re going to see something happening at the dumpster.” 

Cho and his small team of two agents watched their monitors carefully. They were rewarded a few minutes later when the cameras picked up movement directly under the dumpster. They watched as they saw what looked like a trap door slide sideways and a man’s head, shoulders, and arms appear. He opened a door at the bottom of the dumpster and put what appeared to be just some empty boxes inside. Then he jerked something off the inside wall of the dumpster before closing the bottom again. 

Cho shook his head, “Jane, you were right. The dumpster has a false bottom. He’s left the drugs and taken a payment. We’ll--” Cho stopped as he caught the feed from across the street. A woman was walking into the parking lot and heading for the dumpster. As they continued to watch, the man who had been under the dumpster, disappeared only to reappear from behind the dumpster. He walked to the woman and handed her an envelope that had tape on one side.” 

Cho shouted the order, “GO! GO! GO!” 

The team stormed out of the van, grabbed the couple, handcuffed them, put them into the van, and left the scene in less than one minute. Inside the van, Cho looked at the couple and the announced to all those listening, “We got two of them. The bartender, Phil Scott, and a woman.” 

He stopped and looked at the agent who was going through the woman’s purse and found her wallet. The agent handed the wallet to Cho who said, “The woman’s name is Melinda Sparks: 25 years old. She has the same address as Tom McNolt.” 

Inside the club, Jane’s eyes went to Tom behind the bar. The young man was busily pouring drinks and looking a bit frazzled. He watched him gesture to Calhoun who came over and Jane heard him ask his boss, “Where did Phil go? I’m getting slammed.” 

Calhoun replied, “I thought he went to the back to get more whiskey. Let me see what the problem is.” 

Tom nodded but his eyes continued to search the bar. Jane could tell he was looking for his girlfriend. Jane leaned back towards Tom who was pulling draft beers. “Problem?” He asked. 

Tom shrugged and responded quietly, “Don’t know. Have you seen the girl with short blonde hair that was standing at the end of the bar?” 

Jane shook his head, “No, sorry.”

Calhoun arrived back at that moment and went behind the bar. “I can’t find him. Look, I’ll help with the basics while you take care of the cocktails.” He turned to Jane and said, “Could you watch Terri’s spotlight for me? You just work it with that joystick at the end of the bar.” 

Jane smiled, “Sure, happy to help.”

As he stepped away, he heard Calhoun saying to Tom, “This is the third time I’ve had to hunt for Phil. I’m not doing it again.” 

The set ended to rousing applause and Denny and Terri once again made their slow progression to the back of the room. No one noticed that there was an extra gleam in their eyes from knowing that at least part of their mission was completed. 

As they stood chatting with Davey, Calhoun walked up from behind the bar and spoke to Lisbon and Denny. “That was terrific. The folks really love it when you include them in the show.” 

“Thanks, boss,” responded Denny, “But what are you doing back there?”

Calhoun looked disgusted as he responded, “Apparently, Phil decided to leave. Hope he doesn’t think to come back. Anyway, I’ve called Lori, one of our waitresses who can also tend bar, to come in and work back here with Tom for the rest of the night. It’s looking like it’s going to be too busy to be short in the second set.” 

Tom called out to him and Calhoun turned around and headed back to help pour beer and shots. 

After Ginger returned with an order of food for Denny, Abbott and Lisbon went back to the lounge and Jane stayed out front to watch for any more suspicious activity. From what he could see, no one else seemed upset or noticed that something out of the ordinary had happened. 

Abbott’s voice came over the earwigs and he gave orders to all involved. “Good work tonight, folks. Cho, take the prisoners back to our offices and start the interviewing. We’ll join you later for a video conference. Jane, keep an eye out and see if anyone comes looking for Phil or Melinda. Let’s keep moving forward, guys.” 

The rest of the evening seemed to go off with very few problems inside the club. A gentleman was celebrating his birthday and his wife and friends were there to celebrate. Lisbon made sure to make a fuss over him and sang to him and flirted with him in a gentle manner that his wife thought was so adorable that she took lots a photographs during the number. 

At the end of the evening, the three undercovers left the club, stopped for a quick meal at a local diner, and headed for their apartment building. Once “home,” they connected to the FBI and got Cho’s report on the interrogation so far, as well as, a quick view of the video of the surveillance. 

“You were right, boss,” Cho said. “They’re both talking and working hard to implicate the other. According to Phil, it was Melinda who was in charge and he was just trying to make some extra money so he could pay off some debts. Melinda has all but admitted that he’s telling the truth. She’s ready to turn over the dispatcher at the liquor distributor and the garbage man but she wants a deal for minimum time.” 

“Tell her that the only thing she can hope for is a moderate sentence and that’s only if she tells us what she knows about the date rape drugs. We don’t need her to get cases on her distributor and connections. We could just stake out the dumpster and wait.” 

Cho nodded. “You got it. Do you want me to ask about the assaults?”

Abbott thought for moment before decided. “Indirectly. Try to keep it vague. We don’t want to leak out too much information. If they know that they are more serious crimes, they might decide to lawyer up and stop talking.” 

Lisbon chimed in, “Cho, I don’t think we ran a background on Melinda. Do I assume that’s happening now?” 

Cho responded, “Even as we speak.” 

“Be sure to check on old boyfriends and also any step siblings. I’m guessing that the dirty cop is somehow related to or knows her.” 

Cho agreed and signed off. 

The three talked for a little while longer but agreed that they would meet in the morning and go over to the tactical headquarters across from the club to review everything they had learned with the entire team. 

Lisbon bolted the door and turned around to see Jane half asleep on the couch. He had taken off his tie and his shirt collar was opened. He was slouched and his eyes had drifted shut. She smiled and shook her head as she walked over to him. Even exhausted and rumpled, the man oozed sex appeal. 

“Jane,” she called quietly and leaned over him, “Let’s go to bed.” 

He opened his eyes and said, “No matter how tired I am, I think I’ll always respond to that suggestion.” 

The two leaned on each other as the made their way into the bedroom. 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S’ Wonderful -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLI8mj0i07M   
> I Could Write a Book -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwoZNHhFgLQ


	11. Chapter 11

Sunday morning and Teresa woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of something sizzling in a skillet. She smiled. If Patrick wasn’t in bed with her when she awoke, the next best thing was Patrick in the kitchen making breakfast. She opened her eyes and it came to her that they were still on the nightclub case. She wasn’t waking up in their home. That dimmed the pleasure a little bit but not entirely. She had seen enough to know that you had to be grateful for the small moments. 

She jumped out of bed, took a quick shower, and brushed her teeth before joining Patrick in the kitchen where he had bacon staying warm on the counter, bread in the toaster, and was pouring eggs into the skillet. All this and he was still the sexiest looking man she had ever seen. 

Teresa reached up on her toes and gave Patrick a quick peck on the cheek, “Mmm! Good morning.” 

Patrick, without turning away from his skillet, responded, “Good morning to you, my love. You seem to have slept well and deep last night.” 

She gave a satisfied sigh and said, “Yes, I did. There’s something about knowing that we have made definite progress with this case that’s allowing me to be very rested today.”

Looking around she asked him, “What can I do to help?” 

Patrick pointed to the toaster and she started buttering the bread after it finished. “Is it two or three for breakfast?” She asked. 

Patrick finishing with the eggs said, “Two, now and one more in about twenty minutes. He doesn’t want eggs, just bacon and toast.” 

Teresa nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll set the table and get the toast ready.” 

They sat at the table and talked about domestic matters like houses for sale and bill paying while starting their breakfast. Teresa had just walked to the kitchen to get more hot water for Patrick’s tea and refill of her coffee when a tap was heard at the door. 

“I’ll get it!” Patrick let in the boss. “Good morning, Dennis, join us, please. Would you like some coffee? Tea? Juice?” 

“Coffee would be great,” Abbott responded. 

Jane walked into the kitchen, pulled another cup out, and handed it to Lisbon as he brought more bacon out of the oven where he had been keeping it warm. After offering food and beverage all round, Lisbon asked Abbott, “Have we found out anything more?” 

Abbott, slathering orange marmalade on his toast, answered, “Not sure. I haven’t talked with Cho or Fischer yet this morning. We’ll find out when we meet up with tactical.” 

He turned to Jane and asked, “Did you know it was Phil and Melinda?” 

Jane shrugged, “When I saw her and the way she was behaving, I was sure she was involved, and I also knew that Tom didn’t seem to be clever enough to pull off the type of planning needed for the operation. Since I believed it had to be one of the bartenders that left me with one choice -- Phil.” 

Lisbon wanted more information, too. “See, that’s what I don’t get. How were you certain it was one of the bartenders? It could have been Calhoun or any of the other employees with access to those boxes and crates.” 

Jane shook his head, “No, the bartenders were the ones pulling the alcohol bottles out of the cases. Like the dumpster, the boxes have false bottoms that allow the case to be lined with drugs. I noticed the height of the bottles was a good three inches below the top of the box, yet the bottles seemed to fit snug. It was just waiting for the liquor distributor to send a package. What I did get wrong was timing when they were going to make another drop. I didn’t think we would get any action until tonight or Monday. There must have been a need for another shipment faster than expected.” 

The three finished breakfast and headed out to meet up with other members of the team. Since the investigation into the assaults was still ongoing, Abbott was insistent that they continue to be careful and made everyone meet at the bar across from the Noted Lady. Once inside, the team sat around the large prep counters and began the briefing. 

Abbott looked across at Cho, “Cho, bring us up to speed on what’s happening with Phil Scott and Melinda Sparks.” 

Cho leaned forward, looked around the table, and began his report, “Scott started talking the minute we entered the room. He said that he was in it for the money. He wanted to open his own bar and didn’t want to wait. He said Sparks approached him after she saw him stealing tip money from the waitresses.” 

Abbott interrupted to ask, “Did he have any names or information to offer up about anyone else besides Sparks?”

Cho nodded, “He gave us dates of shipments and he gave us a sketch of the drivers sent when there’s a drop made and the garbage man who makes the haul away from the dumpster. He didn’t have names, but we were able to identify them from his sketches.”

Cho stopped and passed around files to Abbott, Lisbon, and Jane. “Meet Gus Cortega. He has been working as a dispatcher for Collins Liquors for five years. He has two misdemeanor arrests for possession and one for assault. The assault was against his former boss at a drycleaner. The drycleaner said that he believed Cortega was stealing but couldn’t prove it and the assault charge was dropped before trial. Cotega has kept a low profile since he started working for Collins but we did a full check and discovered that he has family in Argentina and has made numerous trips back and forth. On the pickup side, you’ll see a file on Chuck Bellwood. He’s the garbage man identified as collecting the trash every time there’s drugs hidden in the dumpster. He has a record of petty theft, assault and battery, and weapons violations. He’s also a proud member of a white supremacist group, White On White, that has been involved in a number of hate crimes in the area. So far, they’re still a small group but if they’re involved in drugs they have the potential to fund bigger projects and recruit better.”

Abbott had finished skimming the file and looked to Cho again, “Has Sparks confirmed any of this?”

Cho nodded again, “She confirmed the names of the people in the sketches and is willing to testify about the entire ring in exchange for a reduced sentence. She said she had been working as the go between for Bellwood and Cortega for six months.” 

Abbott asked, “What about a connection to the Austin PD, has that been established?”

Fischer answered, “I believe so. Looking through background on Sparks, we discovered that her cousin’s husband works on the narcotics squad. We plan to confront her with that information this afternoon. 

Jane who had been reading the files the entire time raised his head to ask, “What has anyone said about the date rape drugs?” 

Fischer responded, “Nothing. Scott and Sparks seem to be completely unaware of anything in the shipments except heroin, oxy, and cocaine.” 

Jane frowned. “That would mean that the assaults are completely separate from the drug exchange.”

“Why?” Lisbon asked. 

Jane gave a half shrug. “If the date-rape drugs are part of the rest of the drug shipment, and the assaults are occurring after visiting the Noted Lady where the shipments are transferred between buyer and seller, it would seem that someone would be picking them up at the club. Therefore, those in charge of the exchange would be handling them.” 

Looks were exchanged all around the table. If Jane’s theory was correct, the events were so completely separated that they might be back at square one on the assaults. 

Abbott thought for a moment, weighing the options and the risks, before coming to a decision. “Jane’s right. Either at least one of them is lying about the date-rape drugs or the assaults have nothing to do with the drug trafficking.” 

He turned to Fischer and Cho, “Go at both of them with what we know about the assaults, but do it quickly and carefully. The more aware they are of our mission, the more vulnerable the mission becomes.” Abbott checked his watch before he continued, “By my calculations, we have another 36 hours before we have to charge them and let them have lawyers. Let’s make the most of our time.” 

Fischer’s phone began to buzz and she stepped away to take the call while the others continued to throw out suggestions on how to interrogate the suspects and Jane offered to help read Scott and Sparks. “Just let me watch the feed from interrogation so I can see the reactions.” 

Cho was happy to have the help, especially Jane’s mentalist training. “Sure, I’ll let you know when we’re going back into interviews and have the feed sent to you.” 

Fischer came back to the table and sat down with a thud on the stool. She was clearly upset and shaken. “Um, folks, that was the hospital. Another woman has been assaulted-- Jan Stephens.” 

“Wait a minute! Not OUR Jan?” Cho’s shock was evident. 

Fischer nodded her head. Everyone in the room was silent and unmoving. “She went in undercover as a customer for the first set on Friday. She stayed for the beginning of the second before she and the two other agents left. She had driven herself separately and apparently no one noticed that she was in trouble. Her phone answered text messages from her Mom and sister yesterday morning saying that she had to work and would talk to them later but she has no memory of sending the texts and little memory of anything at all until she woke up in her car in the hospital parking lot early this morning.” 

Abbott asked, “Who was she with on Friday?”

Fischer gave herself a quick shake, “Kayla Anderson and Michelle Carson.”

Abbott said, “Get them in and go through everything that they saw and heard. Lisbon, I’ll want you to talk them while Fischer is at the hospital with Jan.” 

He turned to Jane, “Jane, if necessary, I want you to go through everything with them to see if you can help them remember anything.”

Jane closed his eyes and worked on accessing him memories of Jan from Friday night. He remembered seeing the young blonde in the first set sitting with two other female agents. In his mind, he tried to see the faces nearby but no one suspicious came to mind. However, he also remembered that she and the other two agents were trying to blend in and were taking lots of selfies. He wanted to see those pictures. “Lisbon, when you call them to come in, make sure they know that we’ll need to see the pictures they were taking.” 

She nodded and opened the laptop in front of her to get the two young women’s contact information. 

Wylie who had also been at the club on Friday night had already uploaded his photographs to the system and started putting them up on the screen at the end of the room. “Jane, here are mine. I wasn’t very close to them, but maybe there’s something there that we hadn’t noticed before.” 

As Jane started to walk over to get a closer look, Lisbon asked the questions no one had asked yet. “Was Jan raped? How badly was she hurt?” 

Fischer closed her eyes briefly and said, “She wasn’t raped but she took hits to her face and ribs. So far she isn’t recalling a lot but she’s pretty scared.” Fischer held up a hand to maintain everyone’s attention. “There is a new wrinkle in the suspect’s M.O. She had a taser burn on the back of her left shoulder. The doctors think she was immobilized by that and then drugged.” 

Lisbon offered, “It could be that he wasn’t able to get her drugged in the club and he feared that she would fight back or scream before he could drug her.”

Abbott thought this idea had merit but hated it. “Great! A sick bastard who’s learning. Okay, let’s get ahead of this guy.”

The rest of the afternoon saw everyone working on some aspect of the cases. Cho was splitting his time between Sparks and Scott and questioning them about the assault drugs. Jane watched the feed and determined that while Phil Scott was a dim as he had initially appeared, Melinda Sparks hit an above average reading on the Jane Deviousness Meter. 

Communicating to Cho via the earwig, Jane said, “Cho, she knows something about the assaults. Find out why she was in the alley last night. Why did she need to go out there and check on Phil?” 

Cho questioned Sparks for the rest of the afternoon while Jane moved on to sit in with Lisbon as she questioned the two young agents who had been with Jan on Friday night. Both young women had been ordered to come to the tactical office across the street from the club but they weren’t told what happened until after they arrived and they were quite shaken. 

“Did you feel like anyone was watching you while you were in the club?” Lisbon asked. She was trying to walk the line between sympathetic sisterhood and cool federal agent. 

Kayla and Michelle both concentrated but shook their heads. Kayla answered, “No, I don’t think so. We’d never been undercover before and we were really excited.” 

Jane looked at Michelle, “And what about you, Michelle, what is sticking out in your mind right now?” 

Michelle was quiet for a minute before she spoke, her eyes staring at the table top. “There was something about the start of the second set that I can’t quite remember.” 

Lisbon looked at Jane and Jane nodded. He leaned forward and took Michelle’s hand, “I want you to do something for me. I want you to close your eyes and relax. Don’t worry about the present. I just want you to let your mind drift back to Friday night. You’re in the club with Kayla and Jan. You can’t believe that you’re getting paid for working as a customer in a nightclub. You’re all having fun but you keep reminding each other that you’re supposed to be working. What’s going on around you?”

Jane hadn’t really hypnotized the woman. He just needed her to be calmer so that her thoughts were flow. It seemed to work because she started filling in the details. 

“We were feeling guilty because we were having fun and we knew that this was serious. Agent Fischer had selected us because she thought we could handle it, but it was hard not to get caught up in the atmosphere. We didn’t know a lot of the songs, but it all sounded really good and we were feeling pretty sophisticated. There were couples in the 40s and 50s all around us, but there were two younger guys sitting somewhere behind me.” 

Lisbon kept her voice soft as she asked, “How do you know that if they were sitting behind you?” 

Her eyes still closed, Michelle replied, “Well, I guess I don’t but at least one of them sounded younger. They were whispering and I couldn’t make it out but I did hear one sort of laugh and say, ‘Chill, buddy.’ I think of that as being an expression that someone in the early 30s or 20s would say.” 

Jane and Lisbon silently agreed with her before Jane encouraged her to go on. “Did the two men seem like they were arguing?” 

“No,” she said frowning at the memories. “They were just kind of intense. Then they were quiet for a bit and I wasn’t sure if they were still there. When Agent Lisbon ended her last song and everyone stood up to applaud, I looked around but I couldn’t tell where the men were.” 

Kayla who had been staring into space the entire time Michelle was speaking, started filling in some gaps. “They had to have been directly across from Jan, because I was between you two and I think I saw two men. I couldn’t make them out too clearly because it was really dark on our side of the room. But I heard the same thing, ‘Chill, buddy.’” 

“What about at the end of the set? Where were they?” Jane asked. 

Kayla and Michelle both shook their heads. Neither remembered seeing them at that point. 

Lisbon could tell that they weren’t going to remember anything more right now so she told them they could leave. “If you think of anything else, let us know. Oh, remember, if you took any photos to let Wylie have your phones to download them.” 

They nodded and said that they had given their phones to him when they got there. 

“Great. Thank you,” Lisbon responded with a smile. 

Jane and Lisbon looked at each other after the two young agents left to see Wylie and get their phones back. “An older man and a young man-- together,” Lisbon made the statement and question. 

It was Jane’s turn to frown and stare at the table. “LAST night I saw Mike and a young man sitting at a table. You know the one with the anniversary couple. They had been sitting alone when the couple came in and needed a place to sit they agreed to share the table. I did not see them on Friday night.”

Lisbon nodded. “I remember because I thought they were an odd twosome. I didn’t see the Friday night because I was onstage all evening. I could only see the very back and the very front. The middle was a black hole because of the lights.”

Jane turned to her and said, “That reminds me, going into the audience last night, was that something that you and Abbott decided before you came out last night?”

She smiled, “Sort of. He was complaining about not being able to see as well as he wanted and I said that if I moved around the room, the lighting would probably change, too, and we’d get better views.” 

Jane touched her chin and turned her face up to his and the light above. Her pupils were still dilated. Apparently, the hypnotic suggestions were still working. 

“What?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Nothing.” 

The rest of Sunday afternoon was spent in going through files and making a list of likely suspects based on information brought by the agents who had been in the nightclub and images they took with their cellphones. However, out of all this material, no one had a picture of the two men sitting near Jan, Kaya, and Michelle. 

The closest image Wylie found was in the background on Fischer’s camera. There were two blurs that seemed to male but nothing was certain. 

“The question is, did they know how to avoid getting their pictures taken or were they just lucky?” Abbott stated. 

Jane added, “Further, why would they need to avoid the cameras or get lucky?” 

Abbott’s phone rang and he took the call. “Yeah, what’ve you got? Uh-huh. Okay. That’s good work. I’ll let them know. Thanks, Fischer.” 

Abbott ended the call that had lasted about five minutes and looked at Jane and Lisbon. “You heard that was Fischer. She’s talked with Jan and the doctors. They said that Jan had two black eyes, a loose molar, significant bruising of her breasts, and some crack ribs. From what she told Fischer, she had no sense of time and would sometimes come to for a few minutes before she was drugged again.” 

Jane commented, “I guess that makes sense. Don’t those drugs leave the system quickly? It’s why they’re not often detected in blood tests, right?” 

Lisbon answered, “Usually, but it depends on what they are. Did she say anything about the type of person that drugged her? Young? Old?” 

Abbott shook his head, “No, but-- and this is new-- there may have been two men. According to what she told Fischer, the HANDS were not the same.” 

Lisbon and Jane looked at each other and then told him what they had found out from Kayla and Michelle and their Friday night experience. Jane then added what he had seen of Mike and the young man on Saturday night. 

“Okay, I’ll get a team to put Mike under surveillance. I don’t want to bring him in for questioning yet. If it’s two people doing this, we don’t have enough to hold him and the other one might be spooked and run to ground.” 

Abbott stopped and looked at his watch. “Okay, we need to leave and get ready for this evening, but first I want to say something to these folks.” 

He clapped his hands a few times and raised his voice just a bit. “People! Could I have your attention for a minute?” 

The agents in the room stilled and turned towards their team leader. “Listen. I just want to thank you for all the hard work you’ve done so far. We have accomplished a lot and once we have the two ends tied up for the drug case on Monday, we should be able to make everything stick in court. But now we have the more difficult part to complete and I know for us it became personal today. However, I beg you to stay as professional as you have been so far and don’t seek revenge or retaliation. That won’t help the woman who died, the others that have been injured, or especially, Jan. We have to make sure that we get whoever is doing this put away for a very long time. Let’s be patient and work smart. Those of you who are working tonight, keep very watchful and alert. To our female agents, stay in teams. Don’t leave alone. Thank you.” 

Jane, Lisbon, and Abbott left and headed for “home” to prepare for another evening’s work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks, 
> 
> I'm very sorry you've had to wait so long for this adventure to continue. I brought everything with me on vacation to work on it, but it was go, go, go the entire time and I never had a chance to sit down and concentrate on story telling. But I'm back now and I solemnly promise to do better. ;-)
> 
> Thanks for your patience!  
> Archijenn

“Lisbon, are you ready to go?” Jane called out as he answered the knock on the door and let in Abbott. 

“Coming,” she responded as she came into the living room. She had decided to wear the black leather skirt this evening with the men’s dress shirt and fishnet hose, but instead of knotting it in the front, she wore the tails out and cinched it at the waist with a wide black belt. The sleeves were rolled and the buttons were opened far enough to get just a peek of the lace bra she wore underneath. With her hair down, it gave the impression that she had just rolled out of a love nest. 

Jane was getting better at not saying the wrong thing when he saw her each evening but he nevertheless let out a small but telling groan. “Every evening you seem to change your style but still look fantastic. You’re slowly killing me!” 

Lisbon smiled as she dropped her black stilettos in her big purse and slipped into her sneakers. Walking quickly was so much easier in the latter. “Thank you, darling, and you can thank Fischer for helping me put this one together.” 

The three people leaving the apartment heard another more feminine groan through their earwigs. “Damn it, Teresa, why did you tell him that? I really do not need Jane seeking to get even with me.” This was followed with a few muffled snorts of laughter coming from various unidentified sources. 

“Fischer, while you’re there, I wanted to know if we had any idea what Jan said to her captor. Does she have any recollection? Did she reveal any undercover information?” The thought had come to Abbott on his way upstairs and he was worried that the whole thing could collapse on them, depending on what she said. 

“I was worrying about that myself, boss,” she replied, “I talked with her and the doctors and they seem to believe that she went so far under that she probably was completely incapable of speech. We think that’s what kept her from being raped.” 

“He needs resistance.” Jane’s words were a statement not a question. 

Fischer replied, “Not a lot, but a little. I’ve looked through the cases very carefully now and the ones that appear to be completely out cold were beaten and discarded quickly and he moved on just as fast to the next. The ones that resisted a lot were kept the longest and had the most injuries, but weren’t raped. Only the ones that gave him what he needed in the way of a fight, were raped and sexually tortured.”

“So either we catch the guy or we tell women they have two choices: fight like there’s no tomorrow or play dead,” Lisbon sarcastically commented. 

As they got to the club, they received a report from Cho who said that after another round of interrogations they had decided that Phil Scott did not know about the date-rape drugs. “However, we’re almost certain that Melinda Sparks was aware of it. We believe that when we arrested her, she was walking out to the dumpster to see if any of the drugs were in the case. When we started asking her about the various types of drugs we found, she seemed relieved that the only thing there was coke, heroin, and oxy.” 

Lisbon shook her head. She hated the thought of a woman helping to victimize other women. As a cop, she had seen this happen many times but it never ceased to sicken her. Lisbon said to the unseen Cho, “Do we have any idea who she’s giving them to or if she’s really a partner in the assaults?” 

“We’re working on that now,” Cho answered. 

“Okay. Let me know when you have more,” Abbott said as he opened the door for Lisbon and Jane and they walked into the nightclub. Calhoun was busy talking to customers at one of the tables. The rest of the club looked busy as usual. A quick glance saw that Tom was behind the bar with Ginger helping him. Jane caught Tom’s eye and nodded as he followed Lisbon and Abbott down the side hall. 

As Lisbon changed her shoes, she and Jane were having one of their epic battles. “It’s peanut BUTTER. You don’t have to put butter on the bread because it’s already there,” he insisted. 

“No, it’s not. It just means that the peanuts have been ground down and creamed LIKE butter. Adding butter or margarine prevents you from using too much peanut butter on the bread and allows the flavor of the jelly to shine through,” Lisbon argued. 

“‘The flavor of the jelly shines through?’ Maybe you’re just using insipid jelly,” he returned. 

“I use great jelly-- and jam-- and preserves!” She fired back. 

As they continued to debate, only Abbott was aware of the knock at the door. He opened it and let Calhoun into the room. Calhoun stared at the couple in confusion. Were a grown man and woman arguing over how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? 

Both felt eyes staring at them at about the same time and turned as one to the two bemused men at the door. “What?” they asked in unison. 

“Uh, is everything okay?” Calhoun asked with a cocked brow. 

“Sure,” Jane shrugged.

“Everything’s fine,” Lisbon agreed. 

“Why?” She asked. 

“Um, I, uh, sorry,” Calhoun said, “I just-- well, I’ve never heard two people so passionate about PB & J as you and Jake here.” 

“What? That?” Jane gestured in a circle around he and Lisbon. “Nah!” 

Abbott took sympathy on Calhoun, “You get used to it and you never get used to it. Best bet is to ignore it.”

Jane shrugged and said, “Meh, she argues with me to show me she loves me.” 

Lisbon’s eyes squinted at him before she turned to Calhoun and said, “He argues with me because he’s not allowed to pull my hair or shoot spitballs at me.” 

Calhoun laughed, “Okay, I guess it’s another version of ‘young at heart.’ Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about your set tonight.”

Lisbon nodded. “Sure.” 

Calhoun explained, “You only have one set tonight but I’m hoping you’ll be willing to make it a bit long. Frankly, we need to keep the audience happy since we may be a little slower filling drink orders with Tom and Ginger behind the bar.” 

“Did you hear anything from Phil? Is he coming back?” Jane asked in the manner of someone who was completely outside the information loop. 

Calhoun shook his head, “Honestly, I don’t know the whole story. I know that Phil left to take out trash last night and didn’t come back. Today, there were FBI guys here asking me questions about my liquor distributor, trash hauler, and Phil. Hopefully the club can stay out of whatever he’s done.” He looked at Lisbon and said, “Terri, can you and Denny help me out tonight?” 

She glanced at Abbott who gave her a slight nod so she smiled at the club owner and said, “Sure, it’s not a problem.” 

Calhoun smiled back at her and once again thought that she was too nice for this business and didn’t know how she had lasted in it. “Thanks.” 

He went back out after saying that he would introduce her in about five minutes. 

Jane turned to Lisbon and, not wanting to ruin her lipstick, gave her a kiss on her forehead. “I do love you, sweetheart.” 

She responded by reaching up and stroking his cheek and saying, “And I love you-- even when you’re wrong-- Oops!” 

She realized that she was feeling something slither down her blouse and grabbed at it. It was the cross she always wore. She took it in her hands and looked at it. “Oh no! The clasp finally wore out.” 

She held it in her hands with a helpless look not knowing what to do next. 

“Here, I’ll keep it safe for you and we’ll have it repaired tomorrow,” Jane said as he took the necklace and put it in his jacket pocket. 

“Thank you,” she said as she rubbed at her throat which felt very bear for the first time in many years. 

Jane quickly went around to the back of the club and looked for a place to best watch the audience. He decided to sit off to the side in the area where Jan, Kayla, and Michelle had sat Friday night. He hoped to get a better sense of what it was like that night and perhaps get a better read on the mystery man. 

The place was packed and Jane offered to share his table with a couple who couldn’t even find a place to sit at the bar. “Thank you so much, “ the woman said with a smile. 

“Our next-door neighbors told us about the new singer here. They said she’s wonderful with the standards. I’m Irene,” the woman continued, “and this is my husband Max.” 

Jane nodded and smiled at the both, “Hello, Irene, Max, I’m Jake.” 

Irene looked around before she said to Jane, “Are you here all by yourself?” 

“Now, Irene,” Max gently chastised his wife, “The man may not want to tell you his life’s story. Sorry, Irene has never met a stranger.”

Jane chuckled, “That’s alright. Actually, Irene, I manage Terri Lipton and Denny Abbs so while I’m seated alone, I’m not by myself. And on Terri’s behalf, please, thank your neighbors for the compliment. I’m sure she will be happy to hear about it.” 

Max and Irene who appeared to be in their early 60s looked delighted and might have said more, but Calhoun introduced Terri Lipton and the show began. 

Jane watched as the crowd reacted to Terri’s first song, “Somebody Loves Me.” There were smiles, sighs, nods, and at the end applause and whistles. 

“Thank you. Thanks. Thank you so much,” Terri responded as Denny played some loose chords behind her. “It’s nice to see you this evening. It’s a beautiful evening and it’s a great night to discuss love and love songs, isn’t it?”

She stopped, took the bottle that Denny had just opened for her, and poured water into a glass. “Yes, we all need somebody to love and to be loved by someone. And it sounds easy, right? You fall in love and you just go loopy,” she paused as the audience chuckled, “No, it’s true. You stop thinking rationally,” she concluded and began singing “All I Do Is Dream of You.” 

Jane watched as Lisbon moved around on stage and through the audience. He also watched the way the audience responded to her. With so many focused on her, he could observe them all without being noticed. No one seemed to be reacting odd or behaving out of the ordinary. He watched the women and, given what he knew about the choices that the attacker had made so far, he tried to anticipate who in the audience was the most likely next target. He narrowed it down to three possibilities. 

First, there was a blonde sitting at the bar with a boyfriend. The boyfriend was obviously enjoying the show and hadn’t paid attention to the whispered remarks that his date was making. All this and she wasn’t looking annoyed or angry, just sad, as if this was a common occurrence. The fact that she was willing to blend into the background but was very attractive, shorter than average, and late 30s, fit the loose profile that they had created. 

The second possibility was a lovely petite redhead in her early 40s. She was with two girlfriends who were definite cougars prowling for men. She seemed a bit embarrassed by their behavior and it seemed clear that this wasn’t the type of place she normally spent an evening. She seemed the type that would have been happier going to a movie followed by a visit to a diner for dessert. 

Lastly, Jane looked at a bleached blonde in her early 40s sitting near the stage. She was with her husband and another couple. She was having a nice time, but it was clear to Jane that she was more shy than the rest of her group who were a bit drunker and louder. She had used hair dye and wardrobe in an attempt to get passed the insecurities she had about herself and her beauty. Jane thought that it was a pity that her husband hadn’t made more of an effort to boost his wife’s self worth. 

All three of these women seemed the assailant’s type. They were lovely but were quieter and trying to stay in the background. That made them easier for him to grab. A confident outgoing woman might complain more, protest, or fight where as a more demure woman would offer him less resistance. 

Jane’s analysis, given all the information they had available, led him to believe that while there were two men involved in the attacks, the one more easily intimidated by a strong confident woman was the one who selected and grabbed the targets. What he was working on now was the why part of that theory. Was the alpha physically unable to get the women from the club? Would he have stood out in some way that would have made him an obvious suspect? Were the two of them together here? Would they risk that? 

Jane would have liked the luxury of time to think through the questions he had but feared that the next kidnapping was imminent. Cho had pointed out this afternoon that there was no longer a break between the time that a victim was found and the time that another was taken. It was just a question of when the authorities would find out about it. 

As Lisbon finished the song, Jane decided to let the undercovers know who he thought the most likely next targets were. He quickly stepped into the entryway and pretended to be on his phone. “Okay, guys, looking around the room, here’s the three women I think most vulnerable.” 

He gave them descriptions and locations, then went back to his table to continue listening to the set and watch the room. 

Lisbon was talking with the audience again. “...I don’t know how you find the right person. I have no tricks or advice. I just think that eventually you meet someone who changes-- everything. ‘And then there suddenly appeared before me. The only one my arms will ever hold. I heard somebody whisper please adore me. And as I looked the moon had turned to gold...’” She used the phrase to take her into the song, “Blue Moon.” 

When the song ended, and the applause died down, she continued her conversation on love between more songs she had planned and requests from the audience that she got as she walked around the room talking with them. Jane thought she seemed very relaxed. Perhaps because the crowd was once again on average a bit older and had a kinder feel to it. He knew that the effects of the hypnosis were partially at work but as time went by, that was fading away. 

Lisbon was talking with an older couple about an anniversary when Jane saw the young man that had been there the two previous nights arrive. Tonight he wasn’t with Mike the janitor. Instead, he appeared to have a date. The young woman looked to be in her late twenties, tall-- almost as tall as the man, and beautiful with long blonde hair, an hourglass figure, and very long legs. The man saw a couple seats at a table near the far end of the bar and he maneuvered them through where he asked the couple already there if they could share. The elderly couple smiled and nodded; the gentleman standing up as the beautiful blonde sat down. 

The confidence the young man showed would seem to wipe him from Jane’s list of possible suspects except that there was something rather cold about the way the couple behaved. It was as if it was staged for the benefit of those in the club. Jane pulled out his cell phone and pretended to need to step to the back of the room to place a call. Once there, he pointed out the young man to everyone listening on comms. “Cho, do we know where Mike is tonight?”

After a short pause, Cho responded over the comm, “According to the surveillance team, he is cleaning a restaurant down the street.” 

Jane acknowledge the information and returned to his seat. 

Lisbon continued to entertain the crowd and she moved into the song “That Old Black Magic” with a wink to Jane and she walked around the room flirting with men who were there in what appeared to be very secure relationships and/or old enough to be her father. She didn’t want to get in trouble with any of the women in the room. Jane chuckled as he watched her, understanding what she was doing. She ended the number in the lap of an elderly man whose wife gave Lisbon a camera so that the man could get a selfie with Lisbon to put on the couple’s Facebook page and impressed the great grandchildren with Peepaw Joe’s “coolness.” Lisbon just laughed and posed with the gentleman before getting up and walking back to the stage to have more of her water provided by Abbott. 

She took a couple sips and thanked the audience again. “You folks are really nice. And sometimes it does seem like black magic when you look in your lover’s eyes. It’s almost as if he-- or she-- can, well, mesmerize you. I know it’s true for me. I can completely lose my train of thought when sea green eyes sparkle at me.” Abbott began the opening bars of “You Do Something To Me” and Teresa couldn’t resist the idea of singing a song directly to Patrick. She had sung about, for, and because of him for a long time. The urge to sing directly to him-- especially this one-- was irresistible. She knew that he had indeed hypnotized her, but it wasn’t that. Those effects were wearing off. However, Patrick Jane was giving the assault case his complete undivided concentration now and she knew that meant it would be solved soon. When the case was finished, she would be done playing the chanteuse. While she would be very glad for that, she knew that this was one of the few opportunities she would have to publicly say how wonderful she thought he was and how happy she was with him. 

When Abbott went from the introduction into the first bars of the chorus she started singing and working her way around the room. This time she worked her way through Davy and Calhoun, then went to Jane’s table where she sang a little to Max before turning to Jane and sitting down in his lap and singing the final chorus. 

As they looked into each other eyes she ended the song and kissed him with all the passion she could publicly display. There was a roar of applause and at the same time many women were sighing and crying out, “Ahhhh!” 

The handsome couple separated and grinned at each other, before Jane helped Lisbon back to her feet. He gave her hand a chaste kiss and she walked back to stage. With a bit of a blush she said to the crowd, “I’ve always wanted to do that and you guys are so nice that it just seemed the right time and place.” 

Abbott started into what they had earlier decided with Jane would be the final number of the evening. Jane wanted to know because during the mass movement at the end, he needed to be able to try and see as much as possible. With the final notes of “They All Laughed,” Lisbon thanked the crowd one last time and wished everyone a good evening. Abbott stood and they stepped down from the small stage and into the club to acknowledge their fans. 

Like the two previous evenings they made slow progress back to the bar and Jane worked his way around the perimeter towards the back. However, courtesy of Lisbon’s jaw dropping public display of affection, it took him a little longer than usual because people stopped him to congratulate him on his good fortune and he was not going to disagree with them. Finally, he made it to the bar and watched as Abbott and Lisbon joined him next to Calhoun and Davey. He also noticed that all the women he had on his short list as the next possible targets for the rapist appeared safer than he thought in their groups. While he was happy for the women he was concerned that he hadn’t picked out the right target. He glanced behind the bar and watched Tom making pitchers of margaritas. He was a bit flushed from the racing around and when he opened the lime container he swore quietly before turning to Ginger and saying, “We’re out of limes. I’m going back to the kitchen to get more.” 

Tom ran down and around the far side of the bar and headed back to the kitchen. Ginger appeared confused for a second before she went back to pouring wine and beer. 

Things were starting to quiet down around Abbott and Lisbon. They came over to join Jane, Davey, and Calhoun. Jane put his arm around Lisbon’s shoulders, gave her a hug, and a kiss on top of her head. “You were great tonight-- both of you.” 

“Yeah, but SHE’S the one who gets the hug and kiss,” Abbott teased him as everyone laughed. 

“Terri, you are a lot of fun to watch and listen to,” Davey said with a smile. “But it’s just about my bedtime so I think I’ll head for home.”

Davey put a $20 on the bar, waved goodnight, and left. As he was walking out the door, he passed a tall man wearing a windbreaker and khakis. Calhoun who had been watching Davey leave, saw him and excused himself from the group at the bar. He walked up to the man and took him back outside. When Calhoun came back in, he was putting something that looked like an envelope in his jacket pocket. Jane recognized the stranger as the same one who had come in the last two nights. 

“Calhoun, is everything alright?” he asked. 

With what could only be termed a satisfied grin, Calhoun responded, “Oh, everything is as it should be.” 

“Sure?” Jane asked again.

Calhoun chuckled quietly, “Absolutely. I’m fully insured.” 

Jane let it drop. He had a suspicion about what was happening but it would wait for another day. Meanwhile, Abbott and Lisbon had decided to head to the backstage lounge. Lisbon couldn’t wait to change her clothes and shoes. Jane told them that he would join them soon. 

They nodded at him knowing that he was going to take another look around the room and walked on. At the lounge door, Lisbon stopped, picked up her bag, and said, “You go on in. I want to run to the restroom and change.” 

Abbott watched her go in and lock the door. Then he went into the lounge but kept the door open so he could see any activity in the hallway. 

Suddenly there was a loud crack in the earwig and followed by lots of yells and shouts, “What the hell was that?!” 

After the shouting started to die down, Wylie came on apologizing, “Sorry, everyone, there was some sort of power surge and it ran through the earwigs. Let me know if anyone has problems with them now.” 

Abbott heard footsteps in the hall and Jane stepped into the room. Looking around and seeing no one else, he asked, “Where’s Teresa?” 

Abbott frowned and looked at his watch, “She went into the bathroom to change.” 

Jane nodded and the men waited for another 30 seconds before a slightly concerned Jane walked over to the bathroom door and knocked. “Teresa? Are you okay?” 

Getting no response, he knocked forcefully and shouted, “TERESA? ARE YOU IN THERE?” 

Abbott and Jane looked at each other before Abbott reared back, brought up his leg and kicked the door in. If Lisbon was okay, they could argue about embarrassment later. 

The room was empty. Just as both men were processing that fact, they heard yelling from the parking lot outside the window along with the sound of car tires squealing on the the asphalt. Both men broke into a full run to get out the emergency exit. They saw an old Cadillac racing down the street and Tom on the ground looking dazed. 

Abbott helped Tom sit up. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Tom groaned. “I’m okay, but he took her. … I’m so sorry... I tried to stop him … I even tried to get her away in my car… she was out cold… he zapped me.”

Jane stomach flipped and he grabbed Tom, “WHO? Who was grabbed?” 

Tom was suddenly scared of this man and he stuttered, “T-T-Terri.”

Jane let him go, stood up, and looked around the parking lot as Abbott went over to a car where they saw the driver’s side door open and a large black leather bag on the ground. The contents, including a pair of white sneakers, were achingly familiar to Jane. He reached down to pick it up but Abbott stopped him whispering, “No, don’t touch anything! We need to get a team here.” 

Abbott turned and saw Tom slowly walking back into the building. He frantically started giving orders over the comm. He wanted a forensic unit in the parking lot and he wanted to track Lisbon’s earwig. 

Cho came on at that point and said, “We’ve got a problem. We can’t pick up the GPS on Lisbon’s. Either it’s off or it shorted out when we all had the power surge.” 

Jane shook his head started shouting “NO!! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER! TERESA!! TERESA!! ANSWER ME!!”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Somebody Loves Me” -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYEeAOTIQ2c   
> “All I Do Is Dream Of You” -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tqA1EQyBCU   
> “Blue Moon” -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8elWF31oQCA   
> “That Ol’ Black Magic” -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWTyLkeWTgw   
> “You Do Something To Me” -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASvsQpCfoZ0   
> “They All Laughed” -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpcEhFlwYi0


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get very complicated and yours truly had to do a lot of thinking about this. In my mind, I have a vision of everything that has happened and that will happen. It’s making sure that the vision makes sense on paper that can sometimes be the big bug-a-boo. 
> 
> Cheers!  
> Archijenn

Abbott insisted that he and Jane remain in character as their team of FBI agents came to the club to investigate the crime scene. He explained in a forceful tone to Jane, “We don’t want these guys to know she’s a federal agent. We don’t know what they’d do if they found out.” 

Jane agreed. Jane would agree to anything that had the potential to keep Teresa alive and get her back. 

Abbott made sure Cho knew what he wanted and Cho told his team not to acknowledge Jane or Abbott in anyway but as Jake Patterson and Denny Abbs. The agents arrived quickly, having driven out the back area of the building across the street, then down the block, and arriving in front of the club from the direction of their Austin office. Many of the customers were still in the club and were shocked to see a squad of federal agents coming in. 

Conversation around the room were muted with only whispers heard. It quickly passed through the room that the bartender had been injured trying to save a woman from being kidnapped. What took another round of gossip through the room was the identity of the woman. When the crowd realized that the delightful lady who had so charmed them was suddenly missing, even most of those who were starting to complain that they wanted to leave, were at least temporarily silent. 

Abbott had placed Jane at a table in a corner of the room. He whispered to the Patrick, “Keep it together, man. I need you to keep your eyes and ears open to anything that doesn’t sound right.” 

Jane could only nod. He felt as if a gigantic sinkhole to Hell was opening up in front of him and his world was slowly collapsing into it. He shook himself. He had to get a grip. She needed him now more than she had ever needed him before. They had weathered many storms through the years and this was just another one. Surreptitiously, he occasionally tried touching his earwig and tapping it. He hoped that he would suddenly hear her voice in his ear, but nothing happened. 

Cho stepped up on the stage, took the microphone and addressed the club’s patrons and employees. “Folks, if I could have your attention please. We know you want to leave but it’s very important for the missing woman that we get as much information as possible from you. If you could bear with us, we will try to work as quickly as we can to get you on your way. Thank you.” 

The team slowly made their way through the room, taking individuals backstage and interviewing them in the hallway while the forensic people worked on dusting and combing through the entire building. Three hours later, there was only a handful of customers left plus the employees. Cho walked over to Calhoun who was looking a bit shaken and asked him to sit down with him at a now empty table. 

Cho started asking him some basic background information. He already knew the answers but he wanted to gauge the club owner’s reactions. “How long have you owned this club?”

“Uh, a little over two years now,” Calhoun answered. “I used to play piano here for a long time.” 

Cho scribbled in his notebook and continued, “Did you notice anything out of the ordinary this evening?” 

Calhoun stared into space. Cho could tell he was making a concerted effort to remember details of the evening, but in the end, he shook his head, “No, I wish I could be more helpful. Terri’s a sweet girl.” 

Cho said nothing to that. In Cho’s mind, “sweet girl” was a rather one-dimensional description of the dynamic woman that had been his boss for so many years. “Where were you when the commotion was happening in the parking lot?”

Calhoun was much clearer about this. “I was here in the club. I was standing at the bar when Tom came in from the side door and told me to call the police. He said that someone had grabbed Terri and that Jake was in the parking lot screaming and Denny was trying to calm him down.” 

Cho made notes of this and Calhoun suddenly realized what he had just reported. “Yeah, that’s right. I called the police. Why is the FBI here? What happened to my call to the police?” 

Cho and Abbott had prepared for this and had decided to give out more information about the case than they had planned. With one agent in the hospital and another one missing, they had decided to force the pace of the case as much as they safely could. 

Cho responded, “We’ve been tracking a drug ring that has been using your club as its distribution center. Some of your customers are, in fact, undercover FBI agents. Since we were already on scene, Austin PD asked us to handle this.” 

As Cho explained, the color drained from Calhoun’s face. “Drug distribution? Oh, dear God! I swear I had no idea.” 

Cho looked at the very pale older man and knew that he was genuinely shocked and frightened. He was pretty sure that Calhoun was not that good an actor. However, Cho also knew that he couldn’t let him off the hook too easily. Jane believed that something was up with the guy and if it had anything to do with Lisbon’s disappearance, Cho was going to find out. 

“At this moment, all I can tell you is that we believe that we have contained the problem. However, we’re still making sure that we’ve found everyone involved. Now, was there anything different about this evening?” Cho asked the same question in different words. Sometimes, it worked.

“Well, the only thing I can think of is that I asked Terri and Denny to make the set a little longer. We were having problems getting the bar orders filled quickly because Phil hadn’t shown up and-- oh!” Calhoun stopped and realized what had been happening. “You know about Phil. You guys must have arrested him.” 

Cho only nodded once and Calhoun stared at him for a moment expecting Cho to continue. When Cho did not, he went on with his answer. “Anyway, she agreed and she sang for almost twice as long as a normal set. The audience was happy.”

Cho made notes then looked back at Calhoun, “You said the crowd was happy. Did anyone look unhappy?” 

Calhoun started to shake his head, stopped, cocked it to the side, and frowned a bit, “Well, there were two people that didn’t look like they were enjoying the evening.” 

“Tell me.”

Calhoun pictured the room as it had been earlier. He could see his “regulars” and some of the other tables. He looked over to a table that was now empty and pointed. “There was a young man who came in late. He was with a beautiful tall blonde. How anyone could be unhappy with her, I don’t know, but he seemed-- well-- grumpy.” 

“Did you see him do or say anything that you can remember?” Cho knew that Calhoun was describing the young man that Jane had noticed; the one that had been with Mike the janitor on Saturday night and seated near Jan on Friday night. 

“Well, he seemed surprised that Terri was still singing. I got the impression that he thought the live show would be done. He said something like, ‘I guess we won’t get that private table, after all.’ The woman said they should stay anyway for a while and they sat down at two empty seats. When the show ended, I looked around and I think they had already left.”

“How did they pay?” Cho asked. “Do you think we could find a credit card receipt?”

Calhoun nodded. “Sure. I know what table they were at and we have an internal numbering system for them. I can get it for you.” 

Calhoun started to get up and Cho stopped him. “Sir, you said ‘a couple people’ were not happy. Who was the other one?”

Calhoun responded, “Oh! I was thinking of Tom. He was getting more and more irritated all evening. Probably between not having the best bartender helping him and his girlfriend apparently walking out on him… well, the guy just seemed angry and distracted.” 

Cho nodded. They had talked to Tom briefly about Melinda Sparks and the team did not feel he was involved in the drug trafficking so he could imagine that Tom was definitely upset about Melinda’s mysterious departure. Of course, another logical conclusion was that even if Tom didn’t know how Melinda was getting the drugs, she could have been supplying them to him. Granted, he had appeared stable but they hadn’t had a warrant to demand a drug test. They would have to keep an eye on him. 

Calhoun got up and went behind the bar to look up the credit card receipts. Cho got up and walked over to Jane and Abbott. He knew both men had been listening to the interviews. Abbott had whispered various questions to him but Jane had said nothing. Cho knew Jane’s history. He knew that after Jane had found the bodies of his wife and daughter, he had fallen apart. Cho could completely understand that after coming so far and facing his worst fears about the consequences of admitting to loving someone again, this could all be too much for him. However, they needed him to come back. 

A cup of tea sat untouched in front of Jane. He knew Abbott and Cho were worrying about him and feared that he was closing himself down. Yes, in the first couple hours he was in a state of complete panic, but he was starting to come to grips with the situation -- or at least that was what he kept telling himself. 

“Are we working out of the bar across the street?” Jane asked Abbott and Cho. 

Cho responded nodding, “Yeah, we’re setting that up as the command post since it’s so close to the crime scene.” 

Jane stood, “Okay, let’s go.” 

Abbott stood, too, “I’ll take you in the car. We don’t want anyone to see us going directly in there and Cho still has a few more interviews.” 

“Fine. I don’t care. I just need to get out of here,” he said as he headed towards the door. 

Cho and Abbott exchanged looks and Abbott followed Jane out. 

Abbott drove two blocks down, turned left, then left at the alley and followed it back to the bar. They walked in the back door and faced a room full of FBI agents working quietly, or talking on phones. They turned and at the far end of the room saw a large case board. On it was a timer and a picture of Lisbon along with other crime scene photos and notes that Fischer was writing out on an abbreviated timeline. It started at the approximate time that Jan was taken through the time that Lisbon’s kidnapping. 

The bravado that had allowed Jane to sit quietly while Cho interviewed the club’s employees and customers, then to demand to come to the tactical post, suddenly left him. Seeing the reality of the unit working the case -- a case with a picture of Teresa on the board -- hit him very hard. He sat down on a stool next to one of the kitchen prep tables and closed his eyes briefly. 

Abbott looked around the room and said, “Okay, people, where are we? Fischer, report.” 

Fischer took a deep breath, looking briefly at Jane who was staring at the table top. “We have gone through the night club from top to bottom but found no sign of Lisbon. We’re going back through it again with more forensic experts to see if there’s anything we missed in a rush the first time. We’re also processing all the information that Cho’s team got in the statements to see if there’s anything that stands out. And we’re looking at all closed circuit camera coverage in the area to see if we can see a car driving away or any suspicious activity.” 

Abbott nodded. “Very good. I also want to go back and look at the backgrounds of all our suspects as well as people we thought we had cleared.” 

Any other case and Fischer might have groaned at all the work that had to be reworked. However, this was not a normal case and, frankly, she needed to be doing something to find a new lead or keep busy until one came along. “Sure thing, boss,” she acknowledged. As she walked away, she started sending text messages to all the agents they had in the area. 

Abbott was rubbing his neck and his hand brushed against his ear. He remembered the earwig he was wearing and that reminded him of some questions he had. He looked around the room and asked, “Does anyone know where Wylie is?”

Three agents looked up at the boss and pointed to the opposite end of the room from the case board. In the corner, hunched over desktop was the technical analyst. Abbott frowned as he walked over to the young man. Wylie had a frantic quality to him as he appeared to reading through diagrams and instant messaging someone at the FBI tech lab. He was so intent on what he was doing that he didn’t hear his boss repeatedly say his name. Finally Abbott stood next to him and said rather crisply, “Wylie!” 

The young man jumped slightly and turned with a look that was a cross between fear, guilt, confusion, and frustration. “Sir?” He responded. If Abbott had said something, he had been so involved that he couldn’t even fake it.

Abbott realized that the young man was upset and he gentled his tone as he asked him what he was working on. 

 

Wylie swallowed hard and flashed a quick glance to where Jane still sat before he looked back at his monitor. “Well, sir, I’m working on figuring out the problem with Agent Lisbon’s earwig.” 

Abbott nodded for the young man to continue. “You see, I think I know what caused the loud crack we all heard. I think Agent Lisbon was hit with an electrical shock.” 

Abbott cocked his head and said, “Like maybe a stun gun?” 

Wylie nodded. “Exactly.”

Abbott shrugged. “Well, that’s not too surprising since we know the last victims were subdued with a stun gun.” 

Wylie agreed. “True, but according to the design specs for these devices they are supposed to be able to withstand a certain amount of electrical shock so, for instance, if the wearer gets it wet it will still work.” 

Abbott’s eyes widened, “So there’s a possibility that if Lisbon still has her earwig we can still find her with it.” 

Wylie replied, “Yes, sir.” 

Abbott patted the young man on the shoulder. “Keep working on this and let me know what’s happening with it.” 

Wylie again looked over at Jane before looking at Abbott and nodding. Abbott realized that Wylie hadn’t said a word to Jane since Lisbon was taken. Abbott sensed Wylie’s fear but decided that this was something that the young man would have to work through on his own. The best therapy was solving the earwig problem. 

Cho and his team came in and went to work with Fischer to go through everything they had found out at the club. He looked over at Jane and could see that the consultant was trying hard to come to grips with everything around him. 

Suddenly, Jane sat up straight, stood up, and came over to the case board. Cho heard him mutter to himself, “What are the facts trying to tell me?” 

Cho looked at the timer. Lisbon had been missing for eight hours – and counting.

To be continued...


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“WHY DOESN’T THIS WORK LONGER ON YOU?!?! DAMN YOU, BITCH! IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO GIVE UP!” He finished this rant by jerking the ropes back around her wrists and storming up the stairs. 

If Lisbon wasn’t concentrating so hard on not feeling the effects of the drugs, she would have laughed at his obvious frustration. How was she supposed to know why she wasn’t staying out or at least more passive longer? HE was the one with the drug cocktail. She was reminded of her own words and knew she had no choice. “So either we catch the guy or we tell women they have two choices: fight like there’s no tomorrow or play dead.” 

If she had “played dead” at the beginning, she might have got away, but he would have just moved on to someone else. She couldn’t be responsible for another woman being grabbed. So she would “fight like there’s no tomorrow” until Jane, Abbott and the team found her. If she let him win, she knew her identification wouldn’t be as strong as if he were caught with her. No, she didn’t want all her work to be for nothing. 

“Damn it, Jane! Hurry up!” she growled in the dark. 

***********************************************************************

“37 hours,” Jane said what everyone could see but didn’t want to acknowledge. “She’s been gone longer than any of the others now.” 

They had been watching all the hospitals, shelters, and had all Austin PD looking out for Lisbon. They had found no one. 

The team was in the tactical command post in the back of the bar. None of them had left much in almost two days. They were going over all their notes with Jane. He couldn’t believe there was nothing in the stack of information that would lead him to her. 

Now that he had addressed the obvious, Fischer blurted out the one word everyone was thinking. “Why?” 

Silence greeted her question for a short time before Jane finally responded. “She’s protecting potential victims.” 

Abbott nodded. “Of course. She knows that if he lets her go, he might kidnap someone else before we stop him.”

Jane stared into space, remembering the conversation about how different women were treated, and said, “She’s fighting him or them.” 

Abbott was becoming silently angry. He had lost agents before and he knew that he would again, but this was different. He had made the mistake of letting this get personal. He couldn’t stop it and there was no going back now. All he could try to do now is find a way to fix this. 

He let out a long sigh. “Okay. We’ve had all our suspects under surveillance for 37 hours. Where have they gone and what have they done?” 

Fischer picked up her notes and started going through the list. She started with the first one she found in her pile. “The unknown customer with tall blonde: His name is Anthony Warson. Mr. Warson is a new partner in a nightclub down the street. He has hired Mike to do some janitorial work for him and in talking to Mike discovered that the Noted Lady was finally getting a new singer and he wanted to check it out. He said Mike was afraid that Calhoun would recognize Warson as being a competitor and that’s why Mike acted nervous on Friday night. When asked why he was staring so much at Jan, he admitted that he has-- and I’m quoting here-- ‘a thing for blondes.’ He has an alibi for the time of Lisbon’s abduction and since then. The blonde he had with him Sunday night, stayed with him that night and he’s been at his club or in his apartment the rest of the time. In both places he has lots of witnesses. He has no record and is a former Sergeant in the Military Police.”

Abbott turned to Jane who frowned and stared at the name on the board. Finally, he shook his head. “No, he seemed very confident of himself with his companion. I don’t see him being part of this.”

Fischer walked over to the case board and put an ‘X’ beside the name Anthony Warson while Cho pulled another name from the small pile. “David ‘Davey’ Murray: He left the club just after the set finished. He spoke to Lisbon before leaving. According to our interview, he walked the four blocks to his home and was there all night. He lives alone and there is a gap of about three hours between the time he left the club and when we interviewed him. We asked him for an alibi for that period and he said he was home watching television. He lives alone and no one could confirm that. Since then we know that he’s left his building to go to the corner market, a diner for breakfast, and to the club last night.” 

Once more, Abbott turned to Jane. Jane liked Davey but realized that there was more to him than met the eye. “Did we ever find his wife?” 

Cho looked through the pages, “Uhh, yes. Agent Fieldman found her in Atlanta and talked with her last night. She said that she married him to get out of her family home. He’s older than her by about fifteen years. After a while, she got bored and told him that she wanted a divorce. He said that he wouldn’t give her one, so she just left. She said, ‘When I decide to break it off with him, I know where to find him,’ but she hasn’t bothered because it keeps guys from getting too serious.” 

Jane was quiet for another minute or so before he shook his head. “Keep him on the list.” 

Abbott reached into the pile and pulled out George Calhoun. “I know he alibis out for almost the entire time period, but there’s something about this guy that’s just off.”

Jane snorted. “He’s a blackmailer but I don’t think he’s involved in serial rape and kidnapping.” 

Everyone stopped and stared at him. Cho found his voice first. “A blackmailer? Who is he blackmailing?” 

Jane replied, “He’s blackmailing the county commissioner who was married to his mistress.” 

“How did you figure that out?” Cho asked.

“I did some checking on the affair and it turns out that Calhoun believed that the commissioner, who is also a successful oilman, rushed his wife to her death. Obviously, he has no real truth or he would have brought it to the police. He was truly in love with her. However, he has just enough information that he could cause the commissioner quite a bit of embarrassment. That’s how he’s managed to stay open this year during some of the tough times. The man that has come in each evening, gives him a small envelope of cash.” 

Fischer turned to Abbott, “What should we do about this?” 

Abbott turned to Jane and said, “Do we have concrete proof of the blackmail?”

Jane shook his head. “Not really.” 

Abbott said, “We’ll keep Jane’s theories in our records and we’ll hand it over to Austin PD if needed. So is Calhoun on or off the list?” 

“Off,” Jane responded. 

Cho picked up the next set of notes. “Next we have Michael Winston. He was not in the club Sunday night. He said he was at home but he lives alone and has no one to confirm that. Since Sunday evening we’ve watched him and he has gone to his cleaning jobs, Wal-Mart where he bought Playtex gloves and aspirin, the gas station, and the diner three blocks from here.” 

“Keep him on the list, for now,” Jane commented. 

Fischer walked back to the counter and picked up another stack of notes. “We went back and did as you asked, boss, and opened a deeper investigation into Tom McNolt. We know he was in the parking lot at the time of the abduction. So far, his story remains the same. He saw Terri Lipton in trouble, tried to get her away from the man, got stunned and the car left. He says he didn’t see the man’s face or at least what he saw was a fake beard, big sunglasses and a ball cap. Since leaving the club Sunday night, he went home where he is now alone. We can confirm that he did not leave his apartment until the next morning at about 11AM when he went to the diner two blocks away from his building. After a late breakfast, he went home and stayed there until he left for work. The pattern has been the same since then. He has made a number of calls to Melinda Sparks cell phone and left a lot of messages and texts. Because we confiscated the phone, we’ve checked them and they’re all ‘how could you leave me,’ and ‘where are you,’ sort of messages.”

Jane cocked his head to the side and said, “Where’s the diner you just mentioned?”  
Fischer looked at the notes, “Meg’s. Why?” 

Cho suddenly looked at Jane, “Hold it. That’s the diner that Mike ate at, too.” 

Abbott jumped in, “Did we have eyes on each of them? Were they in there at the same time?” 

Cho went through the notes on each. “No, they were about an hour apart.” 

Jane sighed and shook his head, “Since they live in the same area, they both probably just like going to eat there.” 

Jane stood up, walked around the table, and looked at the board. “Something isn’t adding up,” he muttered. 

No one said a word. They didn’t want to interrupt the consultant if he was starting to work things out in his head. Finally, he turned and said, “Who interviewed Ginger Jenkins?” 

“I did,” Fischer responded and sorted through her notes. Finding them, she recited them to Jane. “Ginger said that she had been called in to work an extra bar shift because Calhoun couldn’t find Phil. When Lisbon was abducted she was alone behind the bar putting together drink orders for the waitresses because Tom had gone to get more lime slices. She was annoyed because he had been complaining about the fruit all evening and she thought everything looked fine.” 

“That’s IT!” Jane shouted. “Tom needed an excuse to leave!” 

Cho looked confused. “But he was the one who alerted everyone. We’ve watched him since Saturday night. If he has her, where is she, and how was he in the parking lot when you and Abbott got there but she was gone?” 

Jane shook his head as if he was brushing off Cho’s words. “I know. Look, we’ve been saying that we thought there were two people involved in this and now we have confirmation.” 

Abbott believed he knew where Jane was going, but they needed to make sure all the facts were there. “Slow down, Jane. You’re saying that Tom made up an excuse to leave the bar and grab Lisbon,” he waited while Jane nodded, “and then he passed her to someone else and stayed in the parking lot to throw us off? Then where is she?” 

Jane ran his hands through his hair. He was still frustrated. “I don’t know. But I don’t think Tom’s the alpha. I think Tom drugged or stunned the women and got the drugs from Melinda for the alpha.” 

“So the only thing we’re sure of right now is that Tom may have lied about needing limes. Jane, we need more than that for search warrants,” Abbott tried to say this in a kind way. He was upset too. Over the past couple weeks, Jane and Lisbon had included him in a lot more of their lives and he felt so much closer to both of them and this was eating away at him, too. However, they couldn’t just start storming into people’s home without evidence. 

“Look, I’m not saying arrest the guy. If you do that now-- “ Jane swallowed hard “--we may never find her. What I’m saying is that he’s the key to finding her.” 

Abbott nodded. “Okay. So what’s your idea?” 

Jane leaned over the table and looked at those around it. “If we do anything to spook him, any contact he’s having with the alpha will end. We’ve got to figure out who he’s working with and that will tell us where she is.” Jane turned around to the board once more and said, “We need to know more about the relationships that these people have. Do any of them know each other outside the club? Are they related through six degrees of separation?” 

Cho was making notes of all this. “I’ll start looking for any more connections between Tom and our other suspects.” He frantically started typing on his laptop. He had known Teresa Lisbon for over a decade and admired her more than any woman he had ever met. He had always been impressed by her ability to bring out the best in the people around her and her faith in justice -- be it in the courts or with a higher power. He was thoroughly amazed that she had managed to make their CBI team work and, not only work, but do it so well. Sure, Jane seemed to be the lead on most cases, but she made sure that it was obvious that he could only do what he did because they did what they did. Cho refused to let her down now. 

As he went through record after record looking for connections, and the others worked on figuring out ways to keep an even closer eye on their number one suspect, everyone suddenly started flinching and grabbing their ears. 

Fischer yelled, “HEY! What the hell is that?!” 

On the other side of the room, somewhat forgotten to everyone else, Wylie yelled, “Sorry! I’m trying to see if I can reboot Lisbon’s earwig.” 

“You think it’s possible that she still has it? Why can’t we find her then?” Fischer asked while rubbing her ear. 

Wylie wouldn’t turn around to face them but explained over his shoulder. “Unless someone knew to look for it, I don’t think it would have been seen. I also think that if someone used a stun gun on her like you think, it may have overloaded and shut itself down. I’ve been looking over the specs and it should have shut off the moment it felt the electrical jolt. If so, I should be able to start it remotely. I just have to keep trying.” 

Abbott said to the group, “He’s got to keep trying, so if it bothers anyone, take it out, but keep it in your pocket.” 

Everyone removed the comms and slid them in their pockets except Jane. He blinked with the loud clicks as Wylie turned it on and off, but he wanted to be ready if they heard her voice. 

Jane stared at Wylie’s back and realized that he hadn’t spoken to him in days. Everyone else had made a point of coming to him to talk but not the young technical analyst. It didn’t take a mentalist to figure out the problem. Jane left the table and crossed the room. 

Placing a hand on Wylie’s shoulder, Jane caught his attention and Wylie looked startled and fearful. Jane truly liked the young man. He was extremely bright and talented, but also painfully honest and Jane worried about people mistreating him. He certainly would never do that, and he had a feeling he had to make Wylie aware of that. 

“Hey, Wylie, look at me,” he said gently. 

Wylie slowly raised his eyes to Jane’s. Jane could see all the misplaced guilt in them. “You do realize that none of this is your fault, right?” 

Wylie nodded but seemed unconvinced, “I’m okay, Jane, I just need to figure out how to get everything working again.” 

“I know you’re doing your best. Together we’re going to find her,” Jane said with more assurance than he felt. 

Wylie made a lame attempt at smiling and then turned back to his screen. Jane had done what he could do. 

********************************************************

“Ow! What was that?” Teresa was mumbling to herself. She was alone in the basement and she realized she must have fallen asleep for a few minutes after he left. 

Suddenly, she heard it again. “My God, what is this stuff doing to me? It feels like the inside of my head is making cracking sounds.” 

After a pause, she heard it for a third time and knew what it was. She DID still have the earwig. As she listened, she heard it repeat the same sequence and she counted the same interval between. She realized that something must have happened to the comms and that Wylie or someone was trying to fix it and was trying to let her know that something was happening. 

Teresa tried to tilt her head and push her ear into her shoulder in an attempt to make it work from her end but she couldn’t make the right connection. How was she going to get the thing to work? She thought of a few ideas; some weren’t bad and others were a bit more painful. She didn’t think she wanted to force him to hit her hard enough to switch it on. That could cause lasting effects and she wanted to be able to put the place and this experience completely behind her. 

The door at the top of the steps opened and closed and she could tell by the footfall that here was an opportunity. This one wasn’t as confident in “the project” and was a bit nicer to her. To her memory, he had not been as rough on her. 

“Hello, Miss Lipton,” the younger voice spoke through the dark behind the light on his helmet. Both men wore the miners’ helmets with lights on them to help them see what they were doing and to block her from seeing their faces. Neither man knew that she had worked out their identities. She knew the trick to seeing around a bright light by staring off to either the right or left of it. It allowed her to see enough. 

She didn’t immediately respond. She wanted to see where this was going. 

“I was sent to check on you,” he said as he walked up to her and shined the light in her eyes. 

She automatically looked away, but he pulled her chin back and looked closer into her eyes. 

“He’s right. It’s weird that your eyes are slightly dilated but we still can’t get your attitude to modify and get you corrected,” he said in a rather clinical tone. 

Apparently, they hadn’t noticed that her eyes had started out slightly dilated because of the lingering effects of Jane’s hypnosis and she wasn’t going to tell them. 

“Yet I can tell you’re very alert right now and understand everything I’m saying,” he finished and waited for a response. 

Teresa forced herself to stay brave and shrugged. “Since I don’t think I need modified or corrected, I can’t help you.” 

His tone changed to one tinged with regret. “If you just submit, you’ll get out of here sooner. He only wants to help you.” 

A tiny portion of her very tired brain agreed that she just wanted to leave. She just wanted to go home. She just wanted to go to Jane. She kept working to suppress that portion of her brain. She started this odyssey to help and protect other women. If she stopped now, it would all have been useless. Her pain had to mean something. 

“Well, apparently we have different ideas on what the concept of helping someone is all about,” Teresa replied with a short laugh that came out more like a grunt. Her body was sore from the hits, slaps, and pinches making laughter very painful. 

He sighed in partial disgust. “He’s right. Women seem to be foolish creatures who don’t know what’s good for them. Now I just want to examine your face. I need to make sure that the scratch doesn’t get infected.” 

Teresa knew she had a scratch under one eye from the where she had apparently been hit in the face shortly after she arrived. It was a bit hazy because of the drugs but she suspected that someone had blackened her left eye. Now she knew that there was a scratch to go with it. Perhaps from a ring? 

Teresa heard the clicks in her ear. Suddenly, she realized that this might be her best opportunity to get something-- a hand or a finger-- pushed forcibly enough against her ear to try and get the earwig to turn on from her end. 

As he started to look closely and move her face around to wipe the scratch, she fought him. “What are you doing? No! No! No!” 

He grabbed her head in both his hands and squeezed a bit. He thought he had to get her attention because she was acting hysterical. “Hold still! I just want to make sure the scratch is clean! Stop it!” 

She finally stopped when she heard a different snapping sound. She let him finish putting ointment on the scratch and as he left he said, “I won’t tell him about how you just behaved but you should think about being more of a lady.” 

She sat breathing for a second and listening. She couldn’t hear anything. Maybe it hadn’t worked maybe the damn thing wasn’t working. But wait a minute, there was some sort of sound. It was like a hissing. What was going on?

***************************************************************

“I won’t tell him about how you just behaved but you should think about being more of a lady.” 

Jane heard that! He had been leaning against the table and staring at the board when suddenly there was a loud whisper. He jerked and looked around. 

“What the hell was that?” Jane asked the question just as Cho yelled, “I GOT SOMETHING!!” 

Everyone moved toward Cho who reported, “According to public records, Tom McNolt is the half-brother of David Murray’s estranged wife. Also, I found some online chatter that would indicate that Davey had problems with some of the female students saying that he was much harsher with them than the men in class. One woman even complained that he said that she should, and I’m quoting here, ‘know her place,’ and ‘exhibit more gratitude.’” 

Abbott turned toward Jane. “To me, this definitely sounds like a man who has issues with women. What do you think?” 

Jane was staring at Abbott but not really hearing him. He slowly turned toward Wylie who had turned toward Jane. Jane repeated the sentence to Wylie, “‘I won’t tell him about how you just behaved but you should think about being more of a lady.’” 

With a slightly shocked look, Wylie nodded and Jane turned to Abbott, pointed at his ear, and said, “It’s working!” 

As the others started putting them back in their ears, Wylie yelled, “Wait! Wait! I don’t think she can hear us! Listen!” 

Jane called out, “Teresa! Teresa! Please, baby, can you hear me?!” 

His words were greeted with silence. Then he heard a voice that answered his question. “Please, please, is there anyone listening? Please, help me.” 

They heard a slight moan and breathing but nothing more. 

Looking around the room, Jane’s face was a study in pain, while others were showing various degrees of shock and fear. 

Jane ran to Wylie, “Is the GPS working? Can we find her?”

Wylie shook his head, “Not yet. I’m still working on it.” 

Abbott came over to Jane. “We’ll get her. Now we know it’s working and we know she’s alive. She’s alive, Jane!” 

Jane nodded and once more swallowed another lump in his throat. He could hear her soft moans and it was killing him. Putting his hands in his pockets, he walked to the door, stepped outside, and stared out at the alley. His hand touched Teresa’s crucifix that was still in his pocket. “God, I’m sorry but I don’t know that I can ever believe in you, but I do believe in Teresa, and she believes in you. So please, God, if you exist please protect her until we can get to her. She doesn’t deserve this. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever known and the one person that helped me survive all the lonely years. Please, don’t take her from me. I beg of you, God. Please.” 

“JANE!!” 

Jane bounded back inside when he heard Wylie yell his name. 

Wylie was staring at his screen but felt Jane return and asked him, “Does Agent Lisbon know Morse Code? Could we use it to communicate with her?” 

Jane shook his head, “I’m not sure, but she probably would recognize something like SOS.”

Wylie nodded and started clicking the earwigs on and off to the study pattern of SOS in a double burst then stopped. 

Wylie worked with the controls and did it again. Suddenly, over the desktop’s speakers and the earwigs everyone heard a voice-- a tired and desperate voice-- ask, “Wylie, is that you?” 

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

When Lisbon started hearing a series of three short, three long, three short spaced clicks in her ear she had to think for a second; then she remember SOS. Someone had to be sending this. She quickly thought about it and said the only thing that made sense, “Wylie, is that you?” 

There was a pause and then a rash of clicks. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Lisbon smiled. “Okay, okay. We need a system. One click for yes, two for no. First, do you know where I am?”

Click. Click.

“Do you know who kidnapped me?”

Click. Click. Click.

“Um. Does that mean you’re not sure?”

Click.

“It’s Davey and Tom. Davey is the one in charge and Tom does what he’s told.” 

Click.

“Do you know where I am?”

Click. Click.

“Hah. I don’t know either. All I can tell you is that I’m in a dark basement. I’m-- restrained-- to a chair. The only light is from the lights on their miners’ helmets and the red light from what I think is a wired in smoke detector. When someone comes down, the door isn’t open long enough for me to catch anyone’s attention because the music is very loud. The music is always country. The room must be soundproofed because with the door closed I hear nothing. That’s all I can give you about where I am.” 

Click.

“Is Jane with you?”

Click.

“Jane?”

Click.

“I love you. Please, try not to concentrate too much on just me. I know, it’s easier said than done and I would be freaking out if our positions were reversed, but I need you to help them find me. Don’t do anything rash. Please.”

Click.

“Since you don’t know where I am, that means the GPS isn’t working. Do you think you can get it working again?”

Click.

“Do you know how long it will take?”

Click. Click.

Teresa sighed. “Okay. Well, Tom left at the time that this comm started working. If you’re following him, can’t you back track his steps?”

Click. Click. 

Teresa didn’t want to sound weak. She had been in tough jams before and she believed they could get her out of this one. However, she was getting very tired and she admitted to herself that she was hurting. She took an extra minute to process this and work on a question to ask that wouldn’t show her desperation. Jane didn’t need to hear her fear or pain. 

“You don’t have any idea how he got here, is that it?” 

Click.

Teresa slowly inhaled, exhaled, and blinked away the tears of pain, frustration, and exhaustion. “He must be getting here from wherever the tail is on him without being seen.”

Click.

“Therefore, I have to be somewhere near to both of them.”

Click.

“Then we’ve narrowed down the search area, right?”

Click. 

Teresa started to say something when she heard the door opening. She whispered, “Incoming.” 

**********************************************************************

Jane stared at the screen. Everything Teresa said was being recorded and automatically transcribed on the screen. She was alive but he could tell she was in trouble. She had asked him to stay focused and he was trying but this made it better and worse at the same time. 

Abbott and Cho were quietly working on the clues they had for Lisbon’s whereabouts. They knew that it wouldn’t be long now, but they wanted to be able to get her out with no bloodshed. They started planning as they heard another voice. 

*********************************************************************

“Now, Miss Lipton, we need to get back to work,” a loud whispered voice said. The speaker was obviously trying to make sure that she wouldn’t recognize it later. 

“My work is at the club, so if you want to untie me I’ll just get back there. I don’t want to get fired,” Teresa responded while channeling Jane’s bravado. 

“You’re definitely not very smart. That was forgivable when you stayed in your place, but then you decided that flirting and teasing were acceptable, as well as, talking back. We still have a lot of work ahead of us,” he answered as he came over and grabbed her chin and forced her face towards him. He examined her eyes before he abruptly let go. 

“Let’s see if you’ve learned your lessons. The quicker you learn, the quicker you can leave,” the whisper said. 

He went over to the table and began working with a small vial and a needle. Once he seemed to have what he felt was the proper dosage, he came back to her and grabbed her right arm. 

“We’ve been using your left arm so much, I think we should give it a rest and use your right arm,” he explained as he held her arm still and pierced the flesh with the needle. 

Teresa felt a cool sensation under her skin as whatever was in the syringe entered her body. 

“As that works through your system, let’s begin again, shall we?” he whispered. 

“This seems to upset you much more than it does me. Have you ever considered the idea that I’m not the one with the problem. Perhaps YOU’RE the one who should be trying to modify his behavior?” 

“There’s nothing wrong with me! Never say that!” The whisper turned into a growl. 

Teresa knew this was going to be rough for the people listening in but she also knew that if she got him mad enough he’d storm out. That’s what had been happening for however long she had been here. Things got a bit rough but she believed that it helped her get rid of some of the drug from her system. Plus, it kept her from listening to him drone on and on about how a woman should behave. 

“Hmm. Granted, I’ve never completely understood the average American family or understood what the accepted definition of normal is, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t it,” she said in a superior tone. 

“Shut up, you stupid bitch! What would you know about standards? You prance around and flirt with all the men. You and women like you are the reason I have to do this. I thought it would be enough to correct the ones that look up to you, but then I realized I would have to stop you and the others that they’re role modeling. Harlots! You’re nothing but a harlot!” came the whispered rant similar to a hissing snake. 

“Harlot? My, my, you are older than you appear. I haven’t done anything wrong. I did my job and I did it well. Wait a minute? Did I miss sitting on your knee? Aww! Too bad. I tell you what. Tell me who you are and the next time you’re in the club, I’ll come sit on your knee and sing a song just for you!” Her manner was becoming a bit taunting but this drug was started to make her dizzy and she knew she didn’t have long before she would be under its full effects. 

“Whore! Do you think I want you to touch me?! You’re probably riddled with diseases. You sit on my lap?! Never! I don’t know how Mr. Patterson could stomach having you touch him and kiss like you did,” he sneered. 

************************************************************************

Jane was standing near Wylie rocking back and forth, chewing his lower lip. This was true torture. Hearing her taunt this man and not being able to help her. All the nightmares that he had experienced while trying to find Red John seemed to be resurfacing at once, but she was right. He had to stay in control of the moment. She was a good strong agent and she was working the suspect. If she could do this, then so could he. 

They heard her chuckle, “Ohhh, Mr. Patterson is just fine with my touches and kisses. In fact, there’s a whole lot more that I do to Mr. Patterson that he likes very, very much. Would you like to hear about that? Maybe WE could teach YOU something.”

They heard her gasping and making choking noises. Then there was the sound of slaps as he growled at her, “I’M SICK OF HEARING YOU, YOU LOUSY BITCH! JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH OR I’LL SHUT IT FOR YOU!! DEAR GOD, WHY CAN’T YOU LEARN?!?!?!!” 

Then the sound of gasping filled the room along with the sound of footfalls and a door opening and closing. 

Through pants of breath, Teresa said, “Don’t worry. I’m going to be fine. I’m just going to be quiet for a while and sleep off some of whatever it is that he used for the injec----” 

Quiet breathing now filled the room. She had passed out. 

The team looked at each other, shaken to their cores over what they had witnessed. Jane’s eyes were taking on a blank quality that Cho had seen before and had hoped to never see again. 

Jane turned to Wylie and said, “Wylie, keep working on the GPS, but also keep up the SOS. She needs to know we’re still here.” 

Wylie nodded and turned away quickly. He hands shook as he worked his keyboard and he couldn’t look Jane in the eye. If Jane was holding it together, he couldn’t let him see the tears in his eyes. 

Jane walked to the rest of the agents and said, “What kind of insurance did Davey sell?” 

Fischer visibly shook herself to bring her thoughts back from that basement, “Uhh, let me see.” 

Looking at Davey’s file she finally answered, “He sold insurance on commercial real estate in the area.” 

He looked at Cho and said, “Phil told us that the older buildings in the area had tunnels in them to get in and out during Prohibition. What if there are tunnels leading from one building to another?” 

Cho saw where he was going, “Someone who sold commercial real estate insurance would have had lots of blueprints and lots of time to inspect buildings. I’ll have the team watching Davey’s place where he supposed to be right now, go into the building and look around.” 

Abbott looked at Jane and said, “Country music. She’s in the basement under one of the clubs that plays country.” 

Jane nodded. Abbott looked at Fischer and said, “Let’s find all the country music clubs in a walkable radius for Davey and Tom.”

“On it, boss,” she answered and opened her laptop. 

Patrick could hear Teresa gently breathing over the comm. Occasionally there was a slight groan as if in sleep she could finally complain. “Sweetheart, stay strong. We’re coming. I swear it.” 

Fischer was the first to have results. “Boss, there are three country music bars within two miles of both Tom and Davey.” 

She showed them the map that she had created on her laptop. “Here are the clubs: The Honky TexaTonk, The Rodeo, and The Ranch Hand.”

Abbott and Jane stared at the map. Abbott turned to Cho and said, “Let’s get two agents to go to each one. We don’t want to startle either Davey or Tom. We don’t know what they would do if things got too hot too fast.”

Cho nodded as Abbott continued, “Jane and I will stay in a van in the area. We’re known and we don’t want to blow our covers until we’re sure Lisbon is safe.” 

Jane started to protest. He needed to find her. He needed to get to her as soon as possible. “The cover doesn’t matter anymore. She needs us-- me!” 

Abbott was firm on this. “Jane, these guys have been very good about covering their tracks. They have no idea we’re getting close. We don’t know what they’ll do if they panic. We have to take this very carefully.” 

Jane reluctantly nodded his acceptance of this plan. 

Abbott and Cho gave instructions to the two-man units going to each bar. They were not to go crashing into the place. Instead, the agents were told to change into more casual attire. They were told to look for back rooms and basements. If they happened to see the two suspects, they were to report but not approach. Only when Abbott was sure he knew where Lisbon was being held would he storm a place. 

As the teams prepared to go in under light cover, Jane and Abbott waited in a van parked in the area. Jane was only half listening to what was being said. He was busy listening to what was happening on the earwig. He had become used to the clicking noises that Wylie was making and he could tell Teresa was awakening because her breathing pattern was changing. He hoped it would be the last time she woke up in that place. 

Wylie was monitoring the communication center in the van, multitasking between it and trying to re-establish the GPS tracking system for Lisbon’s earwig. He looked at Jane and watched as the consultant fidgeted. Wylie reached in his pocket and pulled out a small flat round pink and gray polished stone. His worry stone had helped him stay focused and grounded when he had a lot on his plate. 

Wylie extended his hand with the stone in it to Jane. “Jane? You can use this if you like.” 

Jane was still a bit distracted as he turned and saw the young man holding something out in his hand. “What?” He replied, as he automatically held out his hand to take what Wylie was offering. As he looked at the small hard disk, he frowned and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What are you handing me?” 

Wylie gave him a brief half smile. “It’s a worry stone. Rubbing it helps to keep your fingers moving over something while you work on solving a mental problem. It helps with focus.” 

Jane smiled softly at him and tried to give it back, “That’s nice of you, but I don’t really believe in homeopathic remedies.” 

Wylie shook his head, “I know Jane, but you used to worry your wedding band all the time when you were working out a problem, and right now all you have is Agent Lisbon’s cross and I’m afraid you’ll break it if you keep fingering it the way you’ve been doing for the last two days. I thought this was a good substitute.” 

Jane was touched that Wylie was so concerned about him. “Thank you, Wylie. I hadn’t realized I was substituting Teresa’s cross. You’re right. If I break it, she’ll be furious with me.” 

Jane went back to staring out the window but as he did so, he played with the stone and worked it between his fingers. 

As Wylie turned back to the console, Abbott caught his eye, gave a very slight nod of the head, and a wink. 

The quiet was interrupted by the first of the two-man teams reporting. “Team 2 to Leader: We’ve checked through the building but didn’t find any unusual doors or stairwells.”

Abbott picked his radio, “Copy that, Team 2. Did you see any sign of either man?” 

“Negative, Leader. Do you want us to come back or stay and keep a look out?” 

Abbott looked at Jane who nodded. “Stay there and report back in 60 minutes.” 

“Copy that, Leader.” 

Abbott turned to Jane and said as way of a reminder to the three of them, “Team 2 is at The Rodeo.” 

Jane nodded but said nothing. He didn’t think by just casually looking around these clubs they would find her. A more thorough search of each club was necessary so staying and watching to see if either Davey or Tom came in was probably the best use of their time. He also wanted to talk to Abbott about another idea. 

“I think I need to go back to the Noted Lady,” Jane announced.

Abbott knew better than to give a knee-jerk reaction to this. His first thought was that Jane would go in there with some half-baked plan that, while it might succeed, would create more problems. He turned in his chair, leaned back, and asked, “What’s your play?” 

Jane shrugged. “Nothing too dramatic. I thought I would go to the bar and if Davey or Tom showed up, I’d act like the boyfriend of a missing woman. Not too far a stretch and maybe I can get them to let something slip or better yet, follow one of them from the bar directly to her.” 

Abbott knew this made sense but he had a condition. “I’ll go with you.” 

He saw Jane start to protest but he said, “It makes sense. I could ask Calhoun to keep me on playing piano and I could observe them and how they react to you.” 

Jane thought for a second and agreed. Yet again, he would agree to anything that got Teresa home. 

The radio buzzed again. “Team 3 to Leader: no sign of a passage or the two suspects. What do you want us to do now?”

Abbott responded, “Copy that, Team 3. Stay put and check back in 60 minutes.”

“Copy that, Leader.”

Abbott reminded everyone that Team 3 had been checking out The Ranch Hand. It was the one closest to Tom and farthest from Davey. 

“Team 1 to Leader: We’ve checked the club and there may be a door at the back of the kitchen. We can’t access it without breaking cover. Please advise, Leader.” 

Abbott said into the radio, “Team 1, have you seen either suspect yet?”

“Negative, Leader.”

Abbott thought for a minute and then looked at Jane while he said, “Team 1, stay on site and watch for either suspect. We’ll work on getting warrants for you ASAP. Report in immediately if you see either man, but do not approach. I repeat: do NOT approach.”

“Copy that, Leader.”

Jane had listened and was nodding. “This has got to be the place.” 

Abbott eyes narrowed as he thought about how close they were getting. “I agree. However, we don’t want to lose the suspects by storming in and asking to search the place. Remember, we have no way of knowing if the owners are aware of what’s happening below the bar.” 

Jane let out a long breath. “We can catch them later. We need to get Teresa out now.”

Abbott wanted her out, too, but he also knew that she had sacrificed a lot for this case and would not appreciate it falling apart at this point. “I’m not saying we don’t get her out. I’m just saying we do this carefully. Why don’t we go ahead with your plan to go to the club--”

Jane was shaking his head furiously but Abbott continued, “-- and if Davey and Tom are there, you’ll keep them distracted while we get her out. We’ll have our warrants by then and we’ll have less to worry about.” 

Jane started to argue but Abbott stopped him, “Patrick, you know this is what Teresa would want you to do. We’re almost to the end. You have to continue to see this through.” 

Jane inner struggle was clearly visible but he finally agreed. “Okay, I’ll go to the club. But she’s out of there tonight! Even if I have to do it alone! Do you hear me?”

“Geez, Jane, who didn’t hear you?” The question came from a tired, grumpy voice not inside the van. 

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Suddenly voices were all speaking at once.  
“Teresa, is that you?”  
“Lisbon, are you there?”  
“Lisbon, can you hear me?”

“Hey, hey! Everyone, take a turn. Yes, I can hear you. Wylie, whatever you did, it’s working now.” 

Wylie turned to Abbott and said, “Give me another minute and I’ll have the GPS working so we can confirm Agent Lisbon’s location.” 

Abbott nodded, “Do it.” 

As Wylie worked, Patrick started talking to Teresa, not caring that they were supposed to be working or that they were being recorded. “Sweetheart, we’re going to get you out. I promise you. God, I’ve missed you. I want to hold you in my arms so much.” 

“Oh, Patrick, I love you, too, but YOU’RE not going to get me out. THEY are. YOU’VE got to go to the club and keep Tom and Davey busy. Please, honey, I need you to do that,” Teresa said. 

She wanted to run into his arms more than anything in the world right now, but there reasons why that might not be for the best. First, she agreed that the safest way to get her out of her dungeon, as she had taken to thinking of it, was to make sure that Davey and Tom were occupied elsewhere. Second, maybe more important than that, she didn’t want him to see her until after they had taken her to the ER. It wasn’t vanity. Over the years, he had seen her at her worst, but she knew that there were some images that haunted him; like the one of finding her in an abandoned house after Red John had smeared Partridge’s blood over her face. Finally, she was well aware that Patrick Jane possessed a vengeful nature. Since his return to crime solving, he had not yet had that severe a test to see if this aspect of his personality was under control. Teresa didn’t think this was the right time to find out. 

Patrick knew that Teresa was trying to protect him. It was her nature as a caregiver. She couldn’t stop herself. However, he still wanted to be there for her. 

“Teresa, they can get anyone to babysit at the club. Abbott can do it easily,” he protested as Abbott gave him a telling glare. 

“Ah, but can anyone else talk to them and play mind games with them?” she countered. “I don’t think so. You’re the one that has the best chance of tripping them up and making them make a mistake. C’mon, you know I’m right.” 

He didn’t want to do it, but he knew he would because she’d asked him. 

He sighed, “Alright, Teresa, but let them take you to the hospital as soon as they reach you. Don’t try and manage the crime scene.” 

She gave a tired laugh, “I promise.”

Cho’s voice was heard, “Jane, that’s a promise I’ll make sure she keeps. You have my word.” 

Cho’s word made Jane feel better. Cho was the kind of man who always followed through. 

“Okay. Let’s get started,” Jane said with a significant amount of reluctance. 

******************************************************************

Plans in place, Jane and Abbott once again walked into the Noted Lady. Jane took a deep breath. He needed to distance himself from his emotions if he was going to make this work. The tails on Davey and Tom confirmed that both men were inside having come here straight from their homes. 

Calhoun was the first to notice the two men and he walked toward them. “Jake, Denny, any word on Terri?” 

Both men shook their heads and Jane explained, “The feds seem completely stumped about it and they have no idea where to look.”

Calhoun nodded sympathetically. “I’m really sorry. I thought my biggest fear was being linked to a drug ring, but this-- makes everything else pale.” 

Jane nodded his head and gave a slightly bumbling appearance as he spoke to Calhoun, “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do, but I needed to get out of the apartment for a while.” 

Calhoun put his hand on Jane’s shoulder and the two men, followed by Abbott, walked into the club and up to the bar. 

“Here,” Calhoun gestured to a barstool two from where Davey was sitting nursing a whiskey. 

Jane slowly sat down on the stool and kept his eyes on the bar. He wasn’t ready to look at Davey or Tom who was tending bar. Abbott sat down another two stools away and casually looked around. It was still early for the evening crowd to come in but a few people were already at the tables. Some recognized Denny Abbs and a few recognized Jake Patterson. Both were the recipients of sympathetic whispers and sad looks. 

Calhoun motioned Tom over and instructed him to “give them whatever they want.” 

Tom nodded, turned to the two men, and asked, “What can I get you?” 

Jane had a number of answers floating through his head, many of them involving some gruesome form of torture, however he simply muttered, “Whiskey neat.” 

Abbott ordered a beer and Tom stepped away to get the drinks. When he returned with them, it was quiet for a minute before Davey quietly said, “Sorry about what happened, Jake.” 

Jane stared harder at the bar and concentrated on not breaking the glass in his grip. “Thanks,” he said in a tone that sounded emotionally hoarse. Only he and Abbott knew that it was the tone of a man desperately fighting for control. 

The men at the bar were silent for a few minutes. Abbott watched reflections in the mirror behind the bar and noticed a look pass between Tom and Davey. Tom, slowly wiping the bar with a rag, asked in a practiced nonchalant manner, “Do they have any idea where she is or what happened to her?” 

Jane took a deep breath and let it out as a long sigh. If Teresa could go through what she was going through, he could handle this. He shook his head, “No. So far, the police and the FBI are completely stumped. I think they believe she walked out.” 

Davey frowned slightly, “Really? Do you think that’s a possibility.” 

Jane looked at him for a second as if thinking about it. “No, it’s not possible.” 

He looked at Tom and said, “You saw what happened and he used a stun gun on you. Even if she were just trying to leave, she wouldn’t have let you be hurt. She likes you.” He stopped and looked at Calhoun and Davey then added, “All of you.” 

Tom nodded and said, “Sorry, I couldn’t tell the cops more, Jake.” 

Jane said, “I know, Tom. You did what you could.” 

Abbott had forced Jane to remove his earwig before they came into the club. Abbott didn’t think that Jane could play it cool if he was also hearing the rescue. Therefore, Abbott was the only one of the two to hear Wylie say, “Agent Cho, the GPS just came online. She’s definitely somewhere in the back of that building.

 

Cho responded, “Copy that, Wylie.”

********************************************************************  
Cho prided himself on staying calm in every situation, but inside he was thrilled at Wylie’s words. Teresa Lisbon was more than his boss or his colleague. She had been his mentor and was now one of his closest friends. He was determined to get her out of this-- alive-- no matter what. 

To his team Cho said, “Okay, we’ve got our the warrants. Remember, we don’t know if anyone working in the bar is aiding Murray and McNolt so be careful. We think Agent Lisbon is in a basement or sub-basement. Find those as soon as possible and if you find her, tell me immediately. Any questions? None? Good, let’s go.” 

The agents quietly walked into the country western bar without weapons drawn and kevlar vests concealed under windbreakers. They came from the front and back or kitchen entrances. The small number of patrons in the bar, at first, barely noticed them. By the time people were aware of something happening, Cho had all the employees secured. He had two of his agents watch over them while he led another group of three agents, with guns now drawn and flashlights on, into a back hallway where he found a door with a padlock. 

Cho signaled for the man with the small battering ram to step forward and break through the door. Cho started yelling, “FEDERAL AGENTS! FBI!” 

“Thank God! Get me out of here!” cried a familiar voice. 

Cho rushed down the stairs with agents behind him. He told them to secure the perimeter of the room and he rushed to the center where his flashlight caught an image of a legs tied to a chair. 

He ran towards Lisbon shouting, “GET SOME LIGHTS ON DOWN HERE AND CALL IN THE PARAMEDICS NOW!” 

She was half crying and half laughing as a light came on overhead and Cho knelt down in front of her. He started untying her and talking to her. “It’s okay, Teresa, we’ve got you now.” 

She looked at him and smiled. It registered with her that this was one of those rare times where Cho had called her by her first name. She knew he was trying to cover how horrified he was at her condition. She figured she didn’t look to great. Her eye still hurt and she was sure her face was still somewhat swollen from the blows she had taken from a frustrated Davey. At least, she was fully clothed and was reasonably sure she had not been raped. 

He was untying her feet and she cautioned him, “Please be careful. I think my right ankle is sprained.” 

Cho had swallowed hard when he started releasing Lisbon but he managed to say in a calm voice, “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you’re well cared for.” 

The paramedics came down the steps with a gurney and their gear. Cho finished cutting through the ties and Lisbon had slumped forward. He caught her shoulders to keep her from rolling out of the chair and waited for the paramedics to take over. 

Having found out the name of their patient before they arrived in the basement, the first paramedic gently took Cho’s place and said, “Agent Lisbon, I’m Paul and my partner there is Steve. We want to move you to the gurney to take your vital signs, okay?” 

She nodded and let herself be gently lifted. While they tried not to bend or unbend her much from her current position, she still couldn’t help groaning loudly. 

Steve tried to keep her focused on them and not on the pain, “I wish we could tell you there will be no pain, but that would be lying and we were told you’re a helluva shot so we’re treading carefully here.” 

Teresa shook her head and rasped out, “It’s okay. Just get me out now, please.” 

Paul and Steve placed a blanket over her and started taking her vital signs. Lisbon rolled her head towards Cho, took his hand, and said, “Where’s Jane? I haven’t heard him much on comms.” 

Cho smiled gently, squeezing her hand in reassurance, and explained, “We took his away so he wouldn’t know when it was safe to attack the suspects.” 

“Good idea,” she said as she closed her eyes and let everything fade away. 

Cho put her hand back down and looked to the paramedics, “She’s going to be okay, right?”

They had finished taking her vitals and giving her a brief and limited check for broken bones. 

Paul replied, “She doesn’t appear to have any bumps to the skull and unless there’s a broken rib that we can’t feel, there are no broken bones. However, she has lots of bruises and contusions. She’s also very dehydrated, I would guess she hasn’t eaten in almost 48 hours, and we don’t know what drugs they put in her system. We need to get her to the ER-- now.” 

Cho nodded, “Get going.” 

As they took her out of the basement, Cho looked around the room for the first time. The chair was in the middle of the room. There was a workbench at the bottom of the stairs that was covered in clean vinyl matting. Underneath the bench was a small trashcan. He looked at it and realized that the old syringes and vials. He raced over, grabbed it, and raced up the stairs. 

Catching up with the paramedics just before they took off, he showed them the trashcan and explained, “We need this as evidence but I know you also need it to find out what’s been in her bloodstream.” 

He stopped and waved over an agent who had just brought an evidence bag out to the van. “John, come here.” 

John came over and Cho explained, “I need you to go to the ER with these guys and maintain the chain of evidence with this trashcan. It’s got vials that they’ll need to see to treat Agent Lisbon but we’ll also need it to build the kidnapping case. Make sure you stay with it.” 

The agent nodded and jumped into the emergency squad. Sirens blaring, they headed for the hospital. 

Cho went back downstairs and told them to bag and tag all the evidence and make sure that they had a full set of images of the place. Looking into one corner, he saw a camping toilet. “After you photograph that, remember, the contents are also evidence.”

Along the wall, perpendicular to the stairs was a bedframe with an old mattress and a blanket. It looked a bit soiled and Cho thought of the women who had been raped. 

“Check the bed for body fluids,” he ordered. 

He stood still and looked around the room. He hadn’t felt this sick and angry at a crime scene in a very long time. Right now, all he wanted was to drive over to the Noted Lady and-- He shook his head to regain control. 

He tapped his ear and said, “Boss, we have the basement secured and the EMTs are taking Lisbon to the hospital. We’re getting ready to question the bar manager and employees, but I have an idea…”

**********************************************************************

Jane was shaking his head, “I just don’t understand why anyone would want to hurt her. The agents asked me if she had any enemies but she’s never made any.” 

Davey took a slow sip of his scotch. “Yeah, she seems like a nice lady. Of course, I hardly know her. She definitely gathered many fans here. Is she like that all the time?” 

Jane said, “Well, people always respond well to her if that’s what you mean.”

Davey explained, “I was just thinking that she had lot of men drooling the other night with all that--” he stopped as if trying to find the right word and ever so slightly curled his lip, “--flirting she was doing.” 

Jane who had been sipping his whiskey, carefully set the glass down and produced a quiet confused tone to ask, “What do you mean?” 

Davey shrugged a shoulder, “Well-l-l, I just meant that she was dancing around the room and sitting on laps and touching men. Some of the wives could have been upset. It’s not exactly modest behavior, is it?”

Jane frowned, “No, I suppose it would seem a bit odd, but no one minded as far as I could tell. In fact, one woman was encouraging Terri to come over to her husband.” 

Davey shook his head and gave Jane a sad smile, “I just hadn’t seen the other singers here behave like that.” 

Calhoun who was still standing at the end of the bar let out a loud snort, “Hah! Some had enough problems remembering the lyrics or climbing on stage to start with. They weren’t getting off until they were done.” 

Davey addressed Calhoun, “I’m simply saying that when a woman dresses-- provocatively-- and makes a fuss over a lot of men, people might get the wrong idea.” 

Jane mentally counted to twenty before speaking. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should talk to her about it. What do you think I should do?” 

Davey answered, “You might want to encourage her to dress in less revealing outfits. Perhaps she should stay on stage during her performances so no mixed signals are sent.” 

Jane shook his head, “Gee, Davey, I don’t know if that would work. She’s pretty headstrong. I don’t know that I could get her to see things my way.” 

Davey chuckled, “You’ll just have to find the right motivation for her.” 

Jane swallowed hard to keep from being physically ill. “Well, I’m not sure that would work for us, but what you’re saying is interesting. Tell me more.”

Davey said, “Well, if you’re really interested…”

Jane said, “Please, I am. It’s just us guys here. We can say what we want, right?” 

The men looked at each other and shrugs and nods were exchanged. 

Davey took a sip of his scotch, “Okay, if you really want to know what I think then here it goes. Things started going wrong when women got the vote.” 

The three men on his side of the bar were stunned to silence before Abbott started laughing along with Calhoun. However, Jane didn’t laugh. He realized that Davey was serious. A few seconds later, Abbott stopped laughing as he saw Jane staring at Davey. “C’mon, Jake, he’s kidding,” he assured him as he turned to Davey for confirmation. “Tell him, Davey, you were just pulling his chain to bring his spirits up. Right?” 

Davey gave Abbott a sad smile and shook his head, “No, Denny, I’m not kidding. If you look back we didn’t have all these statistics about crime against women before then. Men took care of women and protected them. Women knew their place and they were safe. Then when women did start to go out on their own, it was only a certain type of woman who was no better than she should be. If she was hurt, well, you sort of knew she was asking for it. But by the time we got through the Second World War, women didn’t know their places anymore and men had forgotten how to help them stay in their places.”

He stopped, drank the last of his scotch, and waved to Tom who was folding bar cloths for another drink. “It’s all quite sad, really.” 

Calhoun was the first to react. “Davey, that is without a doubt the single biggest load of crap anyone has ever spewed in this bar.”

Davey shrugged. “I’m just examining the history.” 

Abbott had sat quietly trying to figure out how Denny would reply to this. It wasn’t easy because apparently Fischer’s comm was on and she was offering a few choice remarks to anyone listening. Finally, he said slowly, “If that’s what you think, how are you going to un-ring the bell of progress?” 

Davey said, “Well, I’ve thought about this in a few ways. I think you have to start with schools and reintroducing the regulation that kept female teachers from continuing to work after they’re married. Then you have to encourage more employers to hire men over women. When women can’t work as easily, they’ll marry and stay home.” 

Davey stopped as he realized that once again, two of the men were looking at him in stunned silence. As for Jake, well, he couldn’t figure out what was going on with him. He looked shocked and a bit angry but Davey wasn’t completely sure. 

“I could go on, but I have a feeling you gentlemen need to think about this for a while,” he said as he went back to sipping his drink. 

Abbott shook his head and said, “Well, Davey, at least you didn’t try to say that blacks were better off in slavery because we didn’t keep crime statistics of violence against them--”

Davey choked briefly on his drink, cleared his throat and said, “Good heavens! I would never think that. After all, the constitution plainly states that ‘All MEN are created equal.’”

Jane finally found his ability to speak. He had been processing this man’s theory and thinking about where he would have been if Teresa had not been a CBI agent and had not been the one to help and care about him over the years. Probably he would still be chasing Red John or dead. He couldn’t imagine her clinging and desperate for a man to take care of her. 

“I’m sorry but I think I’m a little slow right now,” he said in a careful voice. “Are you saying that Terri is to blame for the fact that she’s missing?” 

Davey was now the one that had to be careful. He realized that he could be bringing attention to himself now that the police were involved. He shook his head, “I’m just talking about my own view of society. I don’t know anything about why Terri’s missing.” 

Jane looked at him and tried to see inside. It was all there. Davey was a frustrated man in more ways than one. He resented women and believed that they were the reason for every problem he’d ever had. He acted the kindly avuncular gentleman but inside he was very angry and the easiest target for the rage was a person half or less than half his size. 

Jane nodded, “I get it. But you have to understand that right now, I’m just concerned with finding Terri.” 

Abbott turned to Tom who was now leaning quietly against the bar with his arms crossed. Apparently, his loyalty to Davey was such that he had to stop what he was doing to listen to the man pontificate. “Tom, did you find out where your girlfriend went?” 

Tom gave a humpf and said, “Yeah, she got arrested for distribution. She’s making a deal with the cops now. Her lawyer called me this morning to find out what I could do to help her.” 

Davey stared at Tom, “What did you tell him?”

Tom looked at Davey and said, “That I had no idea what she was doing. Hell, she was gone most of the time anyway.” 

Abbott watched the two conspirators carefully. Davey was obviously worried that Melinda might give up Tom as part of the serial kidnapping and rape case. However, it looked to Abbott as if, for now, Tom was backing Davey. 

Abbott’s cell phone rang and everyone turned to look at him. He saw that it was Cho, but needed a reason to walk away so he answered it saying, “Hey, baby, what’s going on?” 

He gave the guys a smirk and moved to the other side of the room to talk quietly. Cho was really talking to him through the comm but they needed a reason for Abbott to get up and walk away. 

“Yeah, Cho, where are we with this? I don’t think I can keep Jane here much longer unless he’s allowed to kill Davey Murray.” 

“The only things that will tie them to Lisbon’s kidnapping are forensics and her shaky identification. The club manager and employees are looking very clean on this. One of the bartenders knows Davey and Tom but didn’t realize why they kept coming here. Right now, we’re looking for some sort of passage into the basement from the outside because we don’t believe that they always came in through the back of the kitchen. In fact, we’re pretty sure that at the time of night they kidnapped Lisbon, there was no way to get her down the stairs without being seen.” 

“Well, put a rush on the forensics. Arresting them just on Lisbon’s I.D. won’t work for long and if they get out, they’ll be gone,” Abbott responded. 

“Boss, Fischer and I have an idea about that…” Cho began explaining his idea. 

Jane glanced over at Abbott and saw him frown and nod. Then sensing that people were looking his way, he smiled and chuckled as if he was flirting with the person on the other end of the phone. Jane wanted to be done with the charade. It had gone on long enough, but since they were making him work blind, he had to swallow his impatience. 

Calhoun had also noticed Abbott’s conversation and in a move designed to stop Davey from giving voice to what he thought was really weird philosophy, he said to Jane, “I take it Denny has a girlfriend?” 

Jane nodded, “Yeah, he’s a bit of a lady’s man. I have no idea which one he’s talking to now.” 

Abbott came back over and sat down. “That was Kim. She heard about Terri and said that instead of going out tonight, she wants to stay in and she invited you over, too.” 

Jane wasn’t sure if Abbott was trying to tell him something or not. “Okay, well, thanks.” 

Jane’s cell phone began ringing. He pulled it out and Abbott leaned over to see who was calling. Jane said to the group at large, “It’s that Agent Cho guy.” 

He answered the call, “Hello? Yes, Agent Cho.”

Jane listened to the other side of the conversation and the others waited to hear, also. 

“Yes, I see. Okay. Where is that? Okay. Thank you.”

Jane put the phone back in his pocket and looked at the inquiring faces. To Abbott he said, “Agent Cho said that they may have a lead and he wants to talk to me about Terri’s set on Sunday and about who I saw here.” 

Abbott played along. “Why? Does he think you may have seen something?” 

Jane shrugged. “I don’t know. He just asked me to come in and talk.” 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Abbott asked. 

“I think you should. Between the two of us there may be something that we overlooked,” Jane said before turning to Tom and adding, “I have a feeling they’re going to want to talk to you again.” 

Tom nodded but never looked Jane in the eye. “Sure. Anything I can do to help.” 

Jane and Abbott got up and started walking out as the others wished them good luck. Calhoun went outside with them and said, “Please, don’t pay attention to Davey. He’s okay but every now and then you see how bitter he is.” 

Abbott gave a quick little laugh, “Well, let’s hope he never has an opportunity to act on his theories, right?”

Calhoun smiled back gratefully, “Yes, indeed,” and then turned to Jake and said, “Your Terri is a lovely woman and under no circumstances did she do anything wrong. She’s a good strong woman and a man should always want a woman like her.” 

Jane gave Calhoun a pat on the shoulder. “Thank you.” 

As Denny and Jake walked away from him, Calhoun found himself praying to a God that he hadn’t remembered since before his beloved Nancy had died. Suddenly, the money packet that was still in his pocket from last night, felt like a lead weight. She wouldn’t have wanted him to do what he was doing to her husband. He was not the nicest of men and Nancy would have admonished him not to sink to his level. Calhoun went inside, walked to his office, and made a phone call. 

In the car, Jane made sure that they were out of sight when he asked, “Did they find her? Is she okay?” 

Abbott nodded. “They’ve taken her to the hospital and we’re on our way there now.” 

Jane sagged back into the seat. “Thank you.” 

Abbott wasn’t sure who Jane was thanking but decided that any and all persons real or other worldly should be thanked at this moment. 

After a couple minutes, Jane asked, “What was all that back there with the phone calls?” 

“Cho doesn’t want to wait for forensics. He’s got an idea and we just needed to give him time to put it in place,” Abbott answered. 

Jane who wasn’t concerned about plans and procedures at that moment, only in getting to the hospital, didn’t ask about it. “Did anyone give you information about Teresa’s condition?” 

Abbott shook his head. “I don’t think they did more than take her vitals before they took her out of there.”

Jane didn’t speak for a minute and then asked, “What did Cho say about what he’d seen?” 

Abbott knew this was part of the self-torture that Jane inflicting on himself for not being able to stop Tom and Davey. He could tell him repeatedly that this was not his fault but until he was with Lisbon, it wouldn’t work. Instead, he answered as best he could, “Cho said it was pretty much what they expected. The good news is that the used vials were still in the waste can so the doctors will be able to know exactly what they used to drug her.” 

Jane frowned, “From what we’ve heard, it sounds like they were trying to be careful about dosages, as if only a certain dose gave them what they wanted. Maybe they couldn’t get it right with Teresa.” 

Abbott thought that sounded about right and he wondered, “They were looking at her eyes and trying to judge by pupil size. Could the hypnosis have had an effect?” 

Jane shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I’ll let you in on a mentalist secret: Hypnosis has a very limited cycle of use.” 

Abbott frowned. “What do you mean?”

Jane explained, “I gave her a hypnotic suggestion to help her deal with her fears. It wears off through time as the subject moves through daily life. It’s why using hypnosis for dieting or quitting smoking initially works but not for long.” 

Abbott said, “So you’re saying that’s not why her eyes are still slightly dilated?” 

“No, and I’m willing to bet the doctor will find them normal,” Jane said. 

Abbott was confused. “So what happened?”

Jane gave him a slight smile, “It’s simple. Teresa said that she was trying to see AROUND the light on the helmet to the person behind it. That meant that she didn’t look directly at the light, but into the dark. That would keep her pupils from contracting as much. We do the same thing when we’re driving at night. We don’t look directly at oncoming headlights. We look slightly to the right.” 

Abbott joked, “So if you hypnotized someone to cluck like a chicken, they might do it that night because of you, but if they’re still doing it a few weeks later, it’s because they like it.” 

Jane nodded, “You could say that.” 

Abbott understood. “Interesting.” 

The two men drove in silence for the rest of the way to the hospital. Abbott was listening to his comm and waiting for Cho’s plan to move into action while Jane was consumed with the need to get there as soon as possible. 

When they arrived at the emergency room, Jane went straight to the nurses’ station and asked for Teresa Lisbon. The nurse looked at the handsome slightly rumpled man and asked, “Are you a relative?” 

“I’m her partner,” he said, adding when he realized she was about to turn him away, “And we live together.”

“Well--” she still hesitated. The rules were very strict and she needed this job. 

Abbott took over. “Ma’am, I’m Supervisory Agent Dennis Abbott of the FBI. This is our Consultant, Patrick Jane. Teresa Lisbon works with us and was undercover on a case. We need to see her and talk to the doctors in charge.” 

The nurse was grateful to have a good reason to give out information to a non-relative. “Ohh. Okay. Ms. Lisbon is being taken to her room now. She was treated here and then taken for tests. The doctors will be able to explain everything. She’s in room 5454. Take the first bank of elevators to the fifth floor then head to the east or 4th wing. I’ll phone up there and ask the doctor to meet you.” 

Before she had finished speaking, Jane was moving for the elevator. They got off on the fifth floor and found the correct wing. They found the room and a doctor and nurse standing in front of the door discussing a chart. 

“...every hour for the next six and then every two hours for the next six after that. Then we’ll be able to tell,” the doctor finished instructing the nurse before looking up at the men who had arrived. 

Abbott made the introductions again and asked to know how Agent Lisbon was doing. 

Doctor Wakefield was in his mid-60s with a full head of snow white hair. He was a tall thin man with slightly stooped shoulders. He had laugh and smile wrinkles on his face and sharp eyes. He held an air of someone who was confident and able, but also kind and caring. Jane immediately decided that he liked him. 

“How is she?” Jane asked. 

Doctor Wakefield smiled but his eyes were serious. “She’s doing well. We have her on I.V.s to replace lost fluids and we’ve given her some light painkillers. Her tox screen came back negative, but we’re still waiting another couple hours before we give her anything stronger. If there’s a problem that’s been masked, I want to be able to find it and we can’t do that if she’s heavily sedated.” 

Jane was barely taking in what the man was saying. “Can I see her?” 

The doctor answered, “She’s extremely tired and may not be awake much,” as Jane started to go around him, Wakefield grabbed his arm to stop him. 

Once he had Jane’s attention he went on to say, “She’s been through a lot. She has a number of bruises and contusions. We found no broken bones and no concussion. However, she’s been hit-- a lot. Don’t be shocked by what you see. She doesn’t need you to show any visible upset.” 

Abbott asked, “Was she raped?” 

Wakefield shook his head. “No, we saw no evidence of sexual assault and she said she was unaware of any rape. However, I believe that whoever did this to her was sexually frustrated and took it out on her. Besides the visible bruises, there are a number of bruises to her body and how she managed to NOT have broken ribs, I don’t know.”

He put a hand on Jane’s shoulder and said, “Basically, what I’m saying is that she’s going to be in pain and sore for quite some time. She’s also going to look like she’s been through Hell. However, I believe she’s going to be fine. She seems like a strong woman with a good head on her shoulders. Okay?” 

Jane nodded without speaking. 

“Good,” Wakefield said and patted his shoulder, “Now she’s been asking to see you since we got her settled in bed, so go ahead, young man, don’t keep her waiting.”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: For those who might think Davey’s philosophy regarding a woman’s place in society was a bit over the top, I can assure you that it is not. Basically, I pulled this directly from something that was said to me. 
> 
> In my “real life,” I had given a talk regarding local Civil War soldiers and the families that they had left at home. I explained that many women had to pull the plow and sheer the sheep, as it were. 
> 
> After I had finished speaking and answering questions, a “gentleman” came up to me and said that all the problems in our society start with women developing too much freedom. Naturally, as a woman with multiple degrees, I laughed—and then I realized that this man was serious! He went on to speak in a similar manner to Davey. Since I did not want the headlines the next day to read that a woman working for the institution that employs me had killed a man with a punch glass, I decided to walk away. 
> 
> Moral of the story: Don’t stick around for punch after giving a lecture. ;-) 
> 
> Cheers!  
> Archijenn


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Jane turned and walked through the door. He stepped in about a two feet and stopped. Her face was turned slightly away from him and she appeared to be asleep. There were monitors attached to her showing her heart rate, blood pressure and blood flow. An IV bag dripped fluid into the tube leading to her left hand. She looked small and pale in the bed. Pale that is except for the bruises he could plainly see on her face and neck. 

He slowly walked toward the bed, torn between wanting to wake her and hear her voice and wanting to let her sleep and just hold her. As he arrived next to the bed, most likely sensing someone was in the room; she turned her head and looked at him. She reached out with her right hand and whispered his name, “Patrick!” 

H grabbed her hand and kissed it as he reached over and ran his hand through her hair. “Hi, sweetheart. The doctor says you’re going to be fine.” 

She nodded and fought back tears. She didn’t want to worry him but seeing him here made her aware of how lucky she was and how much she loved him. “I know. I’m just a bit bruised and tired.” 

He was smiling with tears in his eyes. “You’re amazing and I love you.” 

She pulled his hand to her, kissed it and nuzzled it against the side of her face that wasn’t bruised. She may have been starting to tell him something but she had drifted off to sleep. He just stood next to the bed staring at her. Someone had punched her and blackened her left eye as well as choked her leaving a ring of bruises around her throat. Her wrists were bandaged and he could only assume they had been raw from where ropes had tied her down. 

He felt his anger growing and worked on compartmentalizing it so that she wouldn’t see it or sense it from him. Right now, she just needed to concentrate on healing. 

As Teresa’s sleep deepened, her grip on his hand relaxed and he was able to step back when the nurse came in to check on her. The blonde woman smiled when she saw the way Jane looked at her patient. She had yet to have a man look at her like that but she hoped someday… 

“You must be Patrick Jane,” she said quietly with a smile. 

Jane glanced at the woman before staring at Teresa some more. “If I must…” 

She chuckled, “I’m Carla. When we brought Teresa in she was worried that you know where she was. That lady is crazy about you.” 

Jane smiled at his sleeping beauty and stroked her hair. “The crazy is mutual.” 

The nurse finished adjusting IVs and stopped to look at her patient. “Mr. Jane, I don’t know anything about what happened to her, but I do know whoever did this, should be stopped. You’re with the FBI, right?”

Jane looked at the nurse and nodded, “Yes, I am.”

“Be sure to remember what she looks like right now when you arrest him,” the nurse suggested. 

Jane smiled and it was the coldest thing Carla had ever seen. “Believe me, Carla, I’ll see that they pay.” 

Carla who had helped wash Lisbon and assisted the doctor in his full examination, closed her eyes and let her shoulders drop with the sadness of his words. “They? There was more than one? My God, what cowards.” 

Patrick said nothing but stood beside the bed and stared at Teresa. Carla looked around and said, “I’ll have an orderly bring you in a comfortable chair. I’d tell you to leave and come back during the next set of visiting hours, but I don’t think either of you will benefit from that.” 

Jane looked at the kind slightly overweight woman whose compassion seemed endless and smiled, “Thank you.” 

As she left, Abbott came in and got his first look at Lisbon. The lady had put up one helluva fight, that was for sure. He walked in and stood next to Jane who kept stroking her hair and her hand. 

“How is she?” Abbott asked already knowing what the doctor had said. 

Jane glanced back at Abbott with a weary smile and turned back to Teresa saying, “She’s going to be fine, but she’s very tired right now.” 

Abbott nodded, “According to what the doctor told me, that makes sense. Apparently, the only time she closed her eyes was when one of the drugs forced her to so she hasn’t really slept in two days.” 

An orderly quietly opened the door and approached to the two men, “Excuse me. Carla said I was to bring in a couple comfortable chairs. Is it okay if I do it now?” 

Jane nodded, “Yes, thank you.” 

Jane and Abbott went back in the hall while the orderly quietly arranged the room. 

Abbott knew what he had to tell Jane was going to be hard, but he also knew that letting Jane find out on his own could be worse. “Listen, Patrick, I think you should know the full extent of Teresa’s injuries.” 

Jane agreed. “Okay, what didn’t I hear?” 

Abbott swallowed, “Besides the visible bruises to her face, neck, and arms, Lisbon has deep bruising to her left breast, ribs, and upper thighs. She is also recovering from a slight sprained ankle. Dr. Wakefield believes that the attackers became frustrated with her when she wouldn’t comply and beat her instead.” 

Jane closed his eyes and fought for inner calm. When he opened them he saw the tablet that Abbott was carrying. “Are the photographs of the damage up?”

Abbott nodded, “Yes, and of the basement where she was held.”

Jane held out his hand, but Abbott asked, “Are you sure? Can you look at these and still be able to work on this case?”

Jane said quietly, “If she could take it, so must I.” 

Jane slowly opened the file and looked through the images. Most of the body shots were close enough that you didn’t see Teresa’s face. He was grateful. It allowed him to distance his emotions enough not to be physically ill. 

Abbott stood in awe of Patrick Jane at that moment. The man had swallowed hard a couple times and was obviously working at steadying his breathing but he kept going through them. If it was his wife, Abbott didn’t think he could do this. 

“Most of the bruises are on her left side so the attacker was right-handed,” Jane observed as he looked through the first file of images. “It looks like he used his fists except for the ribs. That looks like a boot.” 

“Yeah,” Abbott agreed. “The forensic people believe that at some point she was untied and she was fighting back. However, he must have knocked her to the floor or she fell and he tried kicking her.” 

“That’s probably when she turned her ankle,” Jane concluded. 

Jane closed the file and went on to the next one that contained the photos of the scene. He saw the dark room with the prominent feature being a chair that sat in the middle of the room. It was an old-fashion wood ladder back with arms. It looked very sturdy but was probably not that comfortable after an hour or so of sitting. The arms and the front legs showed where rope and repeatedly rubbed against it. 

Jane closed the file and gave the tablet back to Abbott. He took a deep breath and asked, “Have we arrested Davey and Tom?”

Abbott answered, “We’re close.” 

Jane cocked his head and frowned, “What do you mean ‘close’?”

Abbott face took on a sly look. “Cho decided to find out exactly how Davey and Tom are moving in and out of places, plus catch them ‘in the act,’ if you will.” 

“How?”

Abbott said, “Cho and his team have found all the tunnel exits and entrances that Davey and Tom have been using to move through the area. He’s placed night vision cameras throughout to capture their movements.”

“So we’ll catch them going in and out of the basement,” Jane nodded. “Well done, Cho.” 

Abbott smiled. There was more to it than that, but he wanted to wait and see how everything turned out before he mentioned it to Jane. 

Jane looked over and saw that Carla had definitely taken pity on Jane. The two chairs were cushioned wingbacks and she had placed a small table between them. He decided that he would have to make a donation to the hospital in appreciation of their kindness. 

Jane gestured to the chairs but Abbott declined. “I need to be there when this comes to a head.” 

Jane understood. While he couldn’t imagine leaving Teresa right now, there was a part of him that wanted to be present for the arrest. He comforted himself knowing that he would have a chance to confront the two men later. 

Abbott left and Patrick sat down next to Teresa’s bed. He reached out and took her hand in his and watched her sleep. 

After about an hour, there was a gentle knock on the door and a thin blonde head appeared around the corner. Jane stood up and walked over, “Jan, what are you doing here?” 

The young agent who had been assaulted prior to Lisbon, stepped in and looked at the woman in the bed as she explained, “I wanted to come by and see how Agent Lisbon was feeling, sir.” 

She saw the bruises and seemed shocked. While Jan had a few light marks, she had not been so badly treated. She couldn’t help but feel lucky. 

Jane saw her expression and said, “The doctors believe that she’s going to be fine. She’ll be sore for a while but there should be no permanent damage.” 

Jan turned back to him and pulling herself together said, “I’m sure you’re right. Is there anything I can do to help?” 

Jane could see that the young woman felt guilty and there was really no reason for it. However, he also knew that she was desperate to feel useful. He started to tell her that he couldn’t think of anything when he put his hand in his pocket and felt Teresa’s cross. “You know what? You could do something for me.” 

Jane pulled out the cross with the broken chain. “Teresa broke this the other night. She never takes it off and it must seem strange to her not to have it. Could you take it over to the jeweler’s across the street and see if they could fix this?” 

Jan took the crucifix and chain in the palm of her hand. “Sure, I’m happy to help. Can I get you anything else?” 

Jane smiled but shook his head, “No, doing this would be the best help. Thank you, Jan.” 

Jan smiled at him and then looked to Agent Lisbon, “She’s always so good about encourage other female agents. I think we all want to be there for her now.”

Jan left with her charge and Patrick turned to sit back down as Carla came in to check the IV. Teresa began waking and Patrick was at her side. “Welcome back, sweetheart.”

She turned toward him and started to smile but it turned into a grimace and a groan. “Ohhh. I’m hurting in spots I don’t remember having.” 

Carla cringed and said, “We’re going to be adding a painkiller soon. We’re just waiting for the final results on all the drugs you were given. We can’t give you anything until we’re sure of interactions.” 

“How have the results been so far? I was under the assumption that it was some sort of date-rape concoction that left the bloodstream quickly,” Teresa said. 

“So far, so good,” Carla assured her and looked at her watch. “It should just be less than an hour longer before we have the last of the results.” 

Teresa sighed and thanked her as Carla left. 

When they were alone, Patrick leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I wish I could help with the pain.” 

She raised her hand to his cheek and smiled, “This helps.” 

He looked into her eyes, “Whatever you need, whatever you want, I’ll always make sure to have it.” 

TBC--


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

“Camera E4 is showing movement. Looks like suspect number 2 is on the move.”

“Copy that. Let’s see where he’s going,” Cho responded. 

The unit sitting in the carpet store van watched on their monitors as they saw a man walk through a tunnel. He did not hesitate or slow, seeming to know exactly where he was going. He stopped when he got to a wall then reached above his head and pushed at a brick slightly above and to the left. An unseen door opened and he walked forward. 

The next camera picked up the man’s progress as he walked into a basement where a woman with long dark hair was slumped and tied to a chair. He stopped and put on his miner’s helmet and turned on the lamp. 

“Okay, Terri, you’ve got to be tired because I know I’m tired. Let’s try again. When our friend gets here you will be respectful, is that clear?” His tone did not open the floor for question. 

The woman in the chair mumbled an answer that he did not understand.

“Ms. Lipton, don’t make me repeat myself,” he cautioned. 

Again, the woman in the chair mumbled. 

Finally, he came around the chair and said in an irritated tone, “WHAT are you saying?”

Suddenly the overhead light came on as the woman in the chair jumped up and with a quick movement of her arm to the unsuspecting man’s chest, she had him on the ground with a gun pointed at him. 

“I said you can take your respectful tone and shove it,” she practically growled at him. The agent who had followed him into the basement forced the man over on his stomach and cuffed his hands behind his back. 

“FBI. Tom McNolt, you are under arrest for kidnapping, assault, rape, attempted rape and murder,” Kim Fischer truly enjoyed reading Tom his Miranda Rights and watching as John helped the stunned young man to his feet. 

“What are you talking about? I have no idea what’s going on here. My girlfriend and I were just supposed to be having some fun,” he whined. 

“Really?” Fischer sneered. “If it’s so much fun, why aren’t you tied up and smacked around for a while?” 

To the second agent she said, “Get him out of here but be sure he’s not seen. Apparently, we can expect another visitor soon.” 

Tom was dragged up the stairs and out the backdoor where a restaurant supply van was waiting. 

Inside, Fischer was getting ready again. They had her dressed as close to what Lisbon had worn as they could get. From a distance, it was almost impossible to tell the difference. 

Cho, still sitting outside in the carpet store van, reminded everyone to stay alert and in position. “McNolt is the assistant. Murray is the alpha. We want to get him.” 

“Agent Cho, I have visual contact with the suspect on Camera W2,” Wylie announced. 

“Copy that,” Cho said as he frowned at the monitor and muttered, “I bet that tunnel leads back towards the Noted Lady.” 

As they watched, they saw Davey stop and instead of moving towards the basement entrance that Tom had just used, he turned left and pressed a panel and a door opened. 

“Where’s he going? We don’t have a camera in that spot, do we?” Cho looked at the monitors trying to see if Davey reappeared. The longer it took for Davey to reappear the more anxious everyone became. 

Finally, they saw a man walking down the sidewalk outside the Honky TexaTonk. 

“We have a visual of the suspect outside the facility,” Cho announced to the team. “Be careful, people, he may be onto us.” 

Davey seemed to be looking through the window and reading flyers. After a couple minutes, he casually walked on by the door. Cho thought he walked too casually. Something was up. 

Cho knew the standard reaction would be to move in, arrest him now, and hope that forensics put Davey at the scene and / or that Tom gave him up. But Cho had worked with Patrick Jane for many years and he could hear Jane’s voice in his head telling him to be patient and wait. Davey MIGHT suspect something was up but as long as no one confirmed it, he would relax and go back to his plan. 

Sure enough, he walked around the building and went down a set of steps that led to an old back entrance. This allowed him to bypass the kitchen staff and head straight to the basement door. 

“Fischer, get ready, here he comes,” Cho announced. 

“Copy that,” came the whispered reply. 

They heard more than saw Davey open the door to basement room and walk down the stairs. 

A gravelly whisper said, “Well, Ms. Lipton, I see you must have frustrated poor Tom and sent him on his way. That’s fine. The two of us can find plenty to occupy ourselves.” 

He walked over to the workbench where he stopped to put on a pair of leather gloves and pull a small device out of his pocket. 

“I’ve tried and tried to help you modify your behavior but you’re not a very fast learner, are you? No matter, I’ve decided that medication may not be the answer with you. Perhaps a little shock therapy will work.” 

Davey adjusted the output of the stun gun and put on his helmet with the light on the front. He turned back to Terri and shined the light in her direction. She was slumped forward in the chair as far as her ties would allow. Her hair completely covered her face. He was surprised to see her still under the effects of the last injection. Perhaps that one was the first to start working, he thought as he prepared to force her to obey him. 

As he approached the woman in the chair it registered in his mind that something wasn’t right about her. Her knees were higher and her shoulders as well. In that split second, he knew that this wasn’t the same woman. He grabbed his helmet, threw it to the ground, smashing the light and throwing the room into complete darkness for several seconds. 

When the woman reacted and the agents had the lights on, Davey was gone. 

“Cho, he’s escaped!” Fischer shouted. “Check the camera feeds. We need eyes on him.” 

Cho and Wylie frantically looked at the monitors for some sign of Davey. “He can’t just disappear,” Cho practically growled. 

Wylie saw movement and shouted, “THERE! He’s managed to get behind the agents moving toward the basement. He’s headed for Tom’s apartment building.”

“Do we still have a team sitting outside that building?” Cho asked even as he knew the answer.

“No, they moved after we arrested Tom,” Wylie said.

Cho ordered agents to head to Tom McNolt’s apartment building as Davey left their view. Cho couldn’t believe that with an entire group of agents and a wealth of cameras working in a one mile radius they could lose their suspect, but he greatly feared that it would happen. 

The door of the van opened and Abbott jumped inside. “What the hell is going on?” 

Cho just shook his head and shouted orders to agents to get people in closer position to McNolt’s building and to put up roadblocks throughout the 6th Street neighborhoods. “He got hinky and ran,” Cho explained to his boss. 

Abbott glared in the general direction of the monitors and quietly cursed, “Damn,” before taking a deep breath.

“What’s plan B, Cho?” he asked. 

Cho turned to his boss and said, “We hunt the guy down, arrest him, and then rely on forensics, Tom McNolt, and the victims to convict him.” 

Abbott nodded, “Right, but we have to find the guy first.” 

Cho opened a laptop and started going through notes, “We’ll find him.” 

From anyone else that would have sounded hollow, but Abbott knew Cho and he knew Cho didn’t take kindly to people hurting those he cared about and he certainly didn’t like being played for a fool. But most important right now? He hated the idea of telling Jane that they lost Davey. 

Cho arranged to keep surveillance units on the Honky TexaTonk, the suspects’ apartment buildings, the Noted Lady, and the tunnels. Meanwhile, he needed to talk to Jane and tell him what was going on. Maybe he would have some other ideas on finding Davey that Cho had never considered, and just maybe some of them would be legal. 

Cho announced that he was going to check in on Jane and Lisbon. Fischer asked to go with him. She had interviewed many of the other women who had spent time in that basement and she hoped that what she had learned would help Lisbon. 

They arrived at the hospital about 45 minutes later. They had stopped at a soup and sandwich shop along the way and picked up some for everyone, as well as, some tea and coffee for anyone who needed it. 

Fischer tapped quietly on the open door of Lisbon’s room. Lisbon appeared to be sleeping and Jane was sitting in a wingback chair with a newspaper in his lap staring at her. Hearing the gentle knock, he turned and saw the two agents standing in the doorway. Putting a finger to his lips, he gestured for quiet, stood up, and walked into the hallway. 

“How is she?” Cho asked. 

Jane shrugged his shoulders. “Bruised and in some pain, but mostly tired. She’s slept most of the time.”

Fischer hadn’t seen Lisbon before she arrived at the hospital but the brief glimpse she had from the doorway was surprising. She had interviewed other victims and had seen the photographs taken at the time of the police reports. Lisbon appeared to be the most battered. 

“What has the doctor said?” Fischer asked. 

“He said she should be fine. There doesn’t appear to be any lasting effect from the drugs and her bruises while deep will heal. There’s no internal damage or broken bones. She should be released tomorrow,” Jane explained. 

Fischer gestured to the food in their hands and Jane took them into Lisbon’s room where the intern had added a third less comfortable straight back chair. They quietly passed around the tea and coffee, as well as, the containers of soup. One soup was left in the bag. If Lisbon woke up hungry, they would get it heated for her. 

Jane realized that he hadn’t eaten all day and practically inhaled his bowl of soup and bread. Once he and the others finished, he asked about the case. “Are Tom and Davey in custody?” he asked in a low whisper. 

Cho answered with obvious regret. “We got Tom, but Davey is missing. We have a BOLO out for him, but so far he’s eluded us.” 

Jane was shocked. He fully expected this to be done. “How? How did he get away?” 

Cho described what had happened and waited while Jane processed the information. Finally, Jane said, “Well, your plan was good. However, Davey is definitely more observant than you realized.” 

Cho assured Jane, “I won’t underestimate him again. We will bring him in.” 

Jane gave Cho a long look before nodding his head, “Yes, I know you will. In the meantime, when are we going to talk to Tom?”

Fischer and Cho exchanged glances and Fischer finally said, “Well, we’re waiting on some of the preliminary lab results and then we’ll do the interrogation.” 

“I want to be there,” Jane stated firmly. 

Cho looked at him. “Are you sure?”

Jane gave him his cold smile, “Yes. I won’t come in right away, but I do want to join in the questioning when the moment is right.” 

Cho continued to look at Jane and realized that there was probably little they could do to stop him, short of barring him from the building. However, Cho also knew that Jane could move so far across the line that it would be but a distant memory. Cho didn’t want that. 

“Okay, but if I think you’re going to botch the case, I’m pulling you out of there,” Cho responded. 

Jane nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Don’t worry, he won’t go too far because I won’t let him,” Lisbon said as she turned more towards the group sitting by her bed. 

She yawned as she opened her eyes and smiled. “Please tell me someone brought soup for me. I’m starving.” 

Cho stood up and smiled at his old boss. “Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?” 

As she adjusted the bed to sit up, Jane helped her with the pillows and Fischer brought over the bag containing soup, bread, spoon, and napkin. 

Lisbon answered, “I’ll be okay I just feel like I fell off a train right now.”

She removed the lid and smelled the chicken noodle soup. Her eyes closed in happiness. “Ohh, thank you.” 

As she began slowly eating some of the soup, she let the conversation flow around her. Finally after eating about half the bowl, she sat back and put down the spoon. Already she was feeling stronger and better than she had when she had started the day in that basement. 

Jane, Cho, and Fischer were discussing the charges that would be filed against Tom and the places and means they had available to them to search for Davey. 

“We’re going to continue to try and move through a grid search and narrow the area until we finally have him,” Cho explained. 

“We may be able to get a better idea of where Davey is after talking to Tom,” Fischer suggested. 

Lisbon shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Tom is in complete awe of Davey. He sees him as a father figure. I’m not sure how quickly you could break him.” 

Fischer had been worrying something else, too. “Teresa, I’m going to need to interview you for the case.”

She felt as much as saw Jane glare at her and tried to give a bit of professional courtesy, “It doesn’t have to be right this minute, but we should do it soon. We don’t want to give the defense any reason to question your statements.” 

Teresa reached out and took Jane’s hand in an effort to relax him. It worked like a charm and she turned her head to Fischer and said, “Let me know when you want to start and I’ll be ready.” 

Fischer smiled at her in relief. “Great. I’ll come back later and we’ll get it over with. Thank you.” 

Cho’s phone rang and he turned away to answer it. When the call ended he turned back to the room and said, “Good news. We have Davey. He had made it all the way to the bus station and we picked him up as he was trying to board a bus to Dallas.” 

“Excellent!” Jane said. “I’m looking forward to another chat with him.” 

Even Cho who was the most grounded of anyone in the room, had a chill run down his spine at the thought of Jane having another discussion with Davey. He had seen Thomas McAllister’s autopsy photos. 

Teresa simply rubbed the back of Patrick’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll have an opportunity to meet with him,” was all she said. 

The little party broke up as the nurse came in to check on Lisbon. Jane walked out with the two agents to give Teresa and Carla some privacy. 

Fischer turned to Jane and said quietly, “Look, Jane, I’m sorry but I do have to come back and take an official statement from Teresa. If we wait, it will look like we’ve coached her or had something to hide.” 

Jane knew she was just doing her job and told her so. “I understand. It’s probably more that I’m not ready to hear the details.” 

Fischer appreciated his honesty. “Will you let her know I’ll be back soon?” 

Jane nodded and went back into Teresa’s room. Clara was filling out the chart at the end of the bed. “You’re doing great, Agent Lisbon. Your vitals are fine and all the tests are coming back negative. The doctor thinks he’ll be able to release you tomorrow afternoon.” 

“That would be terrific,” Teresa responded with a smile and turned to Patrick, “Did you hear? I’m coming home tomorrow afternoon.” 

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Wherever you are is home to me.” 

Clara sighed at the romantic statement, “Ohh, that was so sweet.” 

Teresa winked at her and said, “He just does that to bank points with me to use when he’s done something really wrong.” 

Clara nodded with a smile not believing a word of it. She could tell that the two were very much in love. The odd part was that they acted like a couple whose romance was recent but yet they seemed like a happy couple that had been together forever. She inwardly shrugged and left the room. 

Jane sat on the edge of the bed, hold one of her hands in his as he smoothed her hair with his other hand. “Fischer will be back in a bit to take your statement.” 

“Okay,” she said less interested in the business of the case than she was in the man by her side. She reached up and pulled him toward her and gave him a slow kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. He responded by gently returning the embrace. 

“I’ve missed you more than you can ever know,” he said as he buried his face in her hair. 

“Knowing you were trying to find me and waiting for me gave me so much strength,” she told him as she ran her hands up and down his back and into the hair at the nape of his neck. 

She slid slightly to the side and gave him enough space that he could hold her. They were quiet for a few minutes when she started giggling. 

“What so funny?” he asked with a smile.

She shook her head. I was just remembering when you came to in the hospital after the fireman tried to drown you. You asked me if we were sleeping together because I wasn’t acting like a cop and sat on your bed.” 

Jane grunted. “I don’t remember things completely clearly from that day but I do seem to recall making you blush.” 

Resting her head against his shoulder she said, “That wasn’t the only thing you did while in the fugue that caused some embarrassment. You should have seen Grace’s face when you fondled my backside.” 

They both laughed quietly. He leaned back slightly, put a finger under her chin, and raised her face up so that he could kiss her again. “You can’t blame a man when something is irresistible.” 

She gave him one more squeeze before she became more business-like. “You should probably go in and see what’s happening with the processing.” 

He frowned. “I don’t like to leave you alone here.” 

She responded, “I’ll be fine and I need to get some rest before Kim comes back.” 

He sighed. He knew she was right and a part of him did want to get back into the investigation. He just didn’t like her being there alone. 

He was standing up when there was another knock on the doorframe and standing there were Jan and Abbott. Abbott came to check in on Teresa and see if Jane wanted a lift into headquarters. Jan was there to see if she could be any help to Teresa. 

“This is perfect,” Jane said. “Jan, I’ll leave you here to make sure that Agent Lisbon has anything she needs.” 

“Certainly, Mr. Jane,” Jan said as she turned and smiled at Teresa. “I’m happy to help.” 

When Abbott had first heard that Jan had come by earlier to volunteer to help, he had been worried that the young agent was developing a crush on the mysterious figure of Patrick Jane. However, Abbott was breathing much easier now that he saw that the young woman was more interested in the agent she saw as a mentor and role model. 

A young agent couldn’t do better, he thought with a smile as he and Jane headed out.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Abbott and Jane arrived at the FBI’s Austin office and went straight to Abbott’s office where they met with Cho to decide how to interrogate Tom and Davey. It was decided that Cho would be the “face” of the interrogation initially. When it was the right time, Abbott and Jane would step in and break their covers. 

Cho entered the interrogation room where Tom waited. He was sitting straight in the chair with his arms folded across his chest. He was attempting to look calm and slightly contemptuous but Cho had been doing this long enough to smell the fear. 

“Mr. McNolt,” he acknowledged Tom as he sat down across the table from the suspect and opened a case file. 

Tom said nothing. 

Cho made a show of sighing deeply and leaned forward slightly. “Look, you seem like a nice guy who has a problem with his girlfriend and maybe a problem with a friend. You can easily get in front of this mess. Just tell me what you know about Miranda Sparks’ drug business and David Murray’s activities and I’ll be able to help you.” 

Tom still said nothing and just continued to stare at the table.

Cho shrugged. They all knew that the first time around they would not be successful. “Okay, suit yourself.” 

Cho closed the file and left the room. 

In the observation room, Jane and Abbott watched as Tom inhaled deeply and appeared to be meditating for calm. They turned around to the window on the opposite side of the room and watched as Cho went into the other interrogation room. 

He started the same way he had with Tom. He introduced himself and explained how Davey could help himself. Davey’s response was different. He laughed. 

“Agent Cho, I have no idea why I’m here so I have no idea how I’m supposed to respond.” 

“Mr. Murray, we want to question you about your involvement in a series of assaults on women.” 

Davey’s smile turned into a frown and he pursed his lips in concern. “Assaults? On women? Oh my, that sounds awful. I’ve just heard that the singer at the Noted Lady went missing a day or so ago. Is that part of this? Most disturbing.” 

Cho gave him his usual blank stare before he continued, “What were you doing today in the basement of the Honky TexaTonk, Mr. Murray?”

Davey shook his head and looked confused, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never been in that basement.” 

“How about the old bootlegger tunnels that connect the buildings in that area of town? Ever been in those?” Cho asked.

Cho could tell that Davey was weighing the best answer to the question. He didn’t want to trap himself but he also didn’t want to admit anything damaging. “Yes, I occasionally use them to get around the area. I found out about them when I was selling commercial real estate insurance. I admit that I like the idea of secret passageways. I’m not sure I’ve broken any laws doing that, but you would know better than I.” 

Now it was Cho’s turn to be careful how to proceed. He didn’t want to give away his hand too early. “Mr. Murray, do you know a man named Thomas McNolt?” 

“Thomas McNolt,” Davey repeated in a pondering manner. “Thomas McNolt. Wait a second. Are you asking about Tom? The bartender at the Noted Lady?” 

Cho continued to sit quietly without showing any emotion or strain. “Yes, sir.”

Davey replied, “Then yes, I know he’s a bartender at a club that I frequent.” 

Cho quietly closed his small notebook, put away his pen in his pocket, stood up, and opened the door to leave. 

Davey was confused. “Is that it? Am I free to go now?”

Cho turned around and in his usual deadpan fashion said, “No, sir. We’re just getting started.” 

He left as Davey started to bluster. 

Cho entered the observation room where Abbott and Jane still waited. “Well, that went as expected,” he commented as he closed the door. 

Abbott nodded and turned to Jane. “I say we let Davey sit alone for a while and make up stories that he thinks will work, and we’ll go have a chat with Tom. What do you think?” 

Jane gave a half nod/ half shrug movement. “Possibly, but may I suggest that I go in alone to sit with Tom? I promise I won’t cross a line.” 

Abbott and Cho exchanged looks. “Be careful. If he invokes his right to a lawyer...” 

Jane gave a small smile, “I understand and I’ll watch what I do. I’m just going to get cleaned up a bit. Won’t take me ten minutes.” 

Eight minutes later, Jane walked into the interrogation room where Tom was waiting. When Tom looked up and saw him, he frowned and displayed complete confusion. “Jake? What are you doing here?” 

Jane gave him a big smile that should have scared the young bartender because it definitely had the look of a lion that was pleased to have cornered its prey. “Hello, Tom. Actually, the name is Patrick Jane.” 

“I don’t understand,” Tom said slowly. 

Jane was seated slightly back from the table, legs crossed at the knee, hands folded together softly and relaxed in his lap. He was leaning back in the chair and smiling. He oozed confidence and self-assuredness. 

“What’s going on?” Tom asked in voice of growing frustration. 

Jane continued to calmly stare at Tom with a hint of a smile as he explained, “Well, Tom, I need your help. Someone I love was hurt and I need to find out how that happened. I’m sure you want to be on the right side of this, don’t you?” 

Tom shrugged. “I don’t know about anyone getting hurt.” 

Jane tilted his head slightly and said in a reasonable tone, “Don’t you? What about Terri Lipton? She was being hurt the night she was taken from the club. You tried to help then, didn’t you?” 

“Well, yeah,” Tom uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. “Like I said, I wished I could have helped more, but it happened so fast.” 

Jane nodded understandingly, “I’m sure. You must have done everything you could to help her.” 

“Right.”

“And you got hit with a stun gun in the process.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re a good guy.”

“Exactly, thanks, man.” 

“You were trying to help Terri the night she was snatched.”

“Right.”

You were trying to help Terri this morning in the basement.”

“Right.” Tom realized what he said too late. “No, I didn’t mean that.”

“So you were NOT trying to help Terri the night she was snatched?”

“No, I mean, yes, I mean I got hit with the stun gun trying to stop the guy,” Tom fell back to the same story as he leaned in further to convince Jane.

“Then you were NOT trying to help Terri in the basement?”

 

“Yes, no, wait, you’re confusing me,” Tom thrust an arm out, hand open, palm up, in a gesture of supplication. 

Jane had him.

“So what were you doing in the basement?”

“I was just-- wait-- what basement?” Tom was trying to backpedal. 

Jane shook his head slowly, acting as if he and Tom were the best of buddies, quietly said, “C’mon, Tom, talk to me. What were you doing there?” 

Jane held the eye contact. He didn’t want Tom to think too far ahead or he might remember that he could ask for a lawyer. 

Tom began to tremble and he dropped his head to the table. Jane looked at him and, briefly while the young man rested there, allowed his contempt to show. However, as Tom sat up again, all he saw was a look of compassion on Jane’s face. 

“What happened?” Jane asked softly. 

Tom started shaking his head, “I don’t know.” 

Jane said nothing; letting Tom set the pace. He knew the young man was ready to talk now but the wrong word or gesture could cause him to shut down. 

“It all seemed to make sense when he explained it,” Tom said. 

“Who?”

Tom paused for a long time and stared down at his hands. Finally, he said, “Davey. Davey Murray.” 

What followed was a rambling explanation of how Tom wanted to help his “Uncle Davey.” It was Davey who first realized that Melinda was involved in a drug ring and paid her for the date-rape drugs. Melinda even served them to a couple of women. 

When Tom finally stopped talking, Jane thanked him and gently explained, “They’re going to send in someone with a transcription of what you just said. All you have to do is sign it,” at Tom’s frightened look Jane assured him, “You’re doing great.” 

Jane got up and left the room. He walked into the observation room where Abbott and Cho had watched in awe as the mentalist got the confession. 

“Wow. I’ve seen you work for a while now, but that has to be the most impressive thing I’ve seen you do,” said Abbott. 

Cho gave Jane a simple, “Good job.” 

Jane leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. “Just keep me away from him for a while, okay?” 

Both men nodded and turned back to see Tom signing the confession. 

TBC –


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Fischer had the video camera set up and was now sitting beside Lisbon’s bed. She had Jan waiting outside so that the women couldn’t be accused of collaborating on the interview, plus, Jan could stop anyone from coming in and interrupting this. Kim wanted this interview on the record so Teresa could move on. 

After the preliminary information regarding names, time, and place were given, Fischer said, “Agent Lisbon, I’m going to ask you to start at the beginning and state exactly what has occurred. I will interrupt for questions only when I believe there would be a need for clarification. Is that clear?”

Lisbon was sitting up straight in bed and nodded, “Yes.” 

With her back to the camera, Fischer gave Lisbon a small smile of support and said, “Please, begin.” 

“I was working on an undercover assignment with Supervisory Agent Dennis Abbott and Consultant Patrick Jane. My cover was a lounge or torch singer, Terri Lipton, and we were working at the Noted Lady Night Club in Austin. We were assigned to find out if and/ or how drugs were being moved through the bar and into the city. We were also to stop what had become a rash of date-rapes and assaults on women who had visited the club. 

“The second night, my partner Patrick Jane, worked out how and most of the people involved in the drug running. They were arrested that night. The third evening, after finishing the set, I mean, performing on stage Agent Abbott and myself went to the lounge in back. We were waiting on Mr. Jane to join us and I wanted to change shoes and put on a sweater. I went into the bathroom, closed the door, and turned on the light. That’s when I heard a pop sound and felt nothing. 

“When I came to, I was tied to a chair in a basement and someone was slapping me. At first, I couldn’t see who it was because of the miner’s helmet and light. It was a man’s rough whisper and he said that he was in charge and I needed to learn how to please him and how to behave.”

Kim asked a question: “Do you have any idea how many times he hit you?”

Lisbon closed her eyes and frowned trying to go back, “I believe it was either five or six times. After the third time I was a little pretty rattled.” 

Kim swallowed hard. “I see. Please continue.” 

Lisbon took a deep breath and continued, “He started quizzing me about what’s the most important thing a woman can say to a man and I kept getting the answer wrong. He then gave me a shot of something that made the room seem to turn wavey.” 

“Wavey?”

“Yes, to my vision nothing seemed solid. That’s when they took off the ropes for a while. I think they thought the effect would last longer but I started coming out of it and tried to escape.

“I managed to shove the man out of the way and I was running up the steps when he grabbed me and dragged me back down. Somehow I lost a shoe and I fell. Then I blacked out for a while and I didn’t remember any of this until this morning. When I came to again, I was tied to the chair and trying to inventory my bruises.” 

“Do you know how you got the bruises on your neck?” Fischer asked quietly.

Lisbon reached up and touched her throat. “The older one would lose control when we talked and he would grab me by the throat and squeeze.”

“The bruises on your breasts and upper thighs?” Fischer questioned. 

Lisbon sighed. “My memory if very fuzzy but I remember the younger one groping me and I fought back. I’m not sure, but I may have been at least partially untied at the time.” 

“How many times do you remember being drugged?”

Lisbon gave it some thought then answered, “At least four times, but I’m not clear on how much. They all seemed to have a different effect. One was quite paralyzing. It scared me the most.” 

Kim leaned forward, “Agent Lisbon, this is very important. Did you recognize your attackers? If so, how did you recognize them?” 

Lisbon sat up straighter and said, “I did not recognize either of one when I woke up. However, I quickly realized that if I kept my eyes focused slightly off to the side of their helmets, it wasn’t as blinding and I started to recognize features. Also, a couple times they didn’t realize I was awake and they were talking in the normal voices.” 

Kim pulled two pieces of paper out of file. “For the record, I am placing two lineups in front of Agent Lisbon. Agent Lisbon, please tell me if you recognize any of the men in these photographs as your attackers.” 

Lisbon pointed to Davey and Tom. 

“Let the record show that Agent Lisbon has pointed out David Murray and Thomas McNolt,” Fischer said in her official manner. 

She continued on to her next question, “Had you met either one of these men prior to your captivity?”

Lisbon nodded and said, “Yes. Tom is a bartender at the Noted Lady and Davey is a regular customer there. The evening that they abducted me, both were in the club and had watched me perform.” 

“Did either man say anything to you to indicate what was going to happen?” Fischer asked. 

Lisbon shook her head. “No, I didn’t speak at all to Tom; just waved his direction. I spoke to Davey after the set and he told me he liked it and then he left.” 

“Did you in any way suggest to either man that you were interested in them sexually?” Kim hated asking this but these were things that needed to said on the record. 

Lisbon understood but she still hated it. “No, I did not.” 

“This concludes the formal statement.” Fischer said and turned off the camera. She turned back to Lisbon and looked at her closely. “Please forgive me for that. I know it was invasive.” 

Lisbon smiled gently. “Kim, you’re very good at that. I completely understood it was something you were required to do.” 

Kim put the camera and tripod away in the case and came back over to Teresa. She smiled and said, “I’m just so glad you’re going to be okay.”

Lisbon looked up at the woman and opened her arms. They shared a comforting hug and Fischer left feeling good about their friendship and their case. 

After Agent Fischer left the room, Jan entered again. She remembered how drained she was after her official interview. “Agent Lisbon, is there anything I can get you? Some water?” 

Lisbon turned to the young woman and smiled. “Thank you Jan but I’m fine right now. And, please, call me Teresa or just Lisbon.” 

“I know the interview process is not easy so if you just want to close your eyes for a while, you can.” 

Lisbon looked closely at the young woman. “I should ask how you’re doing, too. You were taken prisoner just before me.”

Jan tried to shrug it off, but she realized that Lisbon was seeing right through her. “I’m going to be okay. I’m feeling much better now that they’re identified and we’re building such a good case against them.” 

Lisbon could tell there was something else that the younger woman was not saying. “Jan, what is it? You’ll feel better if you talk about it.”

The woman stared down at her hands, the expression on her face showed an internal agony. Finally, she whispered, “This is my fault.”

Frowning, Lisbon questioned, “What’s your fault?” 

“You… you know… your being hurt… it’s my fault,” Jan finally raised her tear-filled eyes to Lisbon. “I’m so sorry. You have to believe me.”

Lisbon held out her arms and the girl rushed in crying. Lisbon made soothing sounds as Jan wept and continued gasping out, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Over her shoulder she saw Abbott start to walk in and stop. He looked at Teresa’s face and stepped back. The boss wasn’t wanted right now so he waited. 

As Jan’s hysterics calmed down, Lisbon pushed her back, reached over and pulled a tissue to give to Jan. Once Jan had blown nose and was calmer, Lisbon brushed her hair back from her face, much as she had done with her brothers when they were children and had run to her for comfort. 

“Jan, you are not to blame for what happened. Please, don’t torture yourself with that,” Lisbon said firmly but gently. 

Jan shook her head and pulled at the tissue in her hands, “I can’t stop thinking that I should have found a way to stop them so that they wouldn’t have come after you.” 

Lisbon shook her head in disbelief. “You did what you had to do to get out of there and we are all so grateful for that. You have nothing to answer for. You were stunned, drugged, and assaulted. That was not your fault.” 

Jan started to argue and Lisbon raised her hand, “You didn’t bruise me or drug me. That was Tom and Davey. We did what we needed to do to survive. And that’s how we have to think of ourselves. We’re not victims. We’re survivors.” 

Jan had stopped crying and was staring at Lisbon. She nodded and gave Lisbon a small smile. “You’re right. We are.” 

Lisbon smiled at the attractive young blonde who she was sure had a hidden crush on Wylie. “Now why don’t you go get something to eat and get some rest.”

Jan started to protest, “But Mr. Jane asked me to stay with you…” 

Lisbon nodded, “He wanted you to stay with me while I was sleeping and feeling a bit out of it. I’m okay now and they’ve arrested Tom and Davey. Go home, young lady.” 

The two women exchanged smiles and another quick hug before the younger one left bumping into Agent Abbott as she turned the corner. 

“Oh! Sorry, sir!” Jan said and walked on. She was in fact starting to feel very tired. Agent Lisbon’s kindness had helped her break through a wall of fear and anxiety. 

Abbott watched her until she was out of sight before turning and heading into Lisbon’s room. “Sorry, but I didn’t think she would want me, her boss, to see her breakdown like that.” 

Lisbon smiled, “You’re most likely right. I had no idea she was feeling that bad. We’ll have to keep an eye on her for a while.” 

Abbott agreed and then took a closer look at Teresa. Her bruises were starting to take on the bright vividness that they get before they start the slow healing process. However, her eyes were very alert and she seemed much more rested than she had been earlier.

“How are you feeling?” he asked while watching closely for her response. 

She gave him a sardonic smile and said, “Better than I look, I’m sure.” 

He smiled and said, “Given the circumstances, I think you look terrific.” 

She chuckled, “Thanks-- I think. How is the case coming?”

He told her about the confession they were getting from Tom and the other information they were putting together from Melinda and with the forensics. “We’re waiting until we have all that together before we go back at Davey again.” 

“I agree,” she said. “His ego is huge and I’m sure he believes that there is no way we can legally tie him to this. He told me at one point that his greatest thrill was knowing that there were women walking around terrified that the man that walked passed them on the street or stood behind them in line was the same man that had taught them they were powerless.” 

Abbott stared at her. “I’ve been in this business for a long time now, but I’m still amazed at how disturbed people can be.” 

They talked quietly for a time before she asked, “Where’s Jane?” 

He thought for a second and said, “He should be here shortly. He said he had a stop to make on the way.” 

“Oh, okay,” she said hoping that the stop was for her go-bag that she kept in their apartment. It had a full set of toiletries and a decent set of clothes that she could put on to leave. 

As if on cue, Jane walked down the hallway carrying a medium size duffle bag. Dropping the bag on the other side of the bed and aware that their boss was in the room, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “Hello, my love, I’m sorry I took so long to get back, but I’m sure Dennis told you that I wanted to make a stop on the way. I drove over to our place and got your go-bag.” 

“Thank you, sweetheart, I was hoping you would do that,” she said as she reached up gave his face a gentle caress. 

Abbott enjoyed watching these two together and was amazed that it took them so long to realize how much they loved each other. Even when he first met them in Sacramento it was obvious to him that they had a deep connection. He was only half teasing when he had referred to Jane as Lisbon’s “boyfriend.” It wasn’t just Lisbon’s feelings that were obvious. Jane, in his way, was just as obvious. He could have probably found a way to avoid exile if he had included her in his final plan. But he wouldn’t risk anything happening to her or her compromising her principles. His respect for her was as strong as his need for her. 

Abbott could also tell that it was time for him to leave them alone. “Well, I think I’m going to go home and give my wife a big hug. I’ll see you two tomorrow.” 

“Thanks for coming by, boss,” Lisbon said. 

Abbott no sooner left than Teresa turned to Patrick and reached out for him. He sat on the bed and held her, stroking her hair and back for a few minutes. Finally, he said quietly, “You’re going to get really annoyed with me over the next few weeks because I’m going to have a hard time not touching you. I was so afraid I would lose you.” 

She leaned back to look into his eyes and run her hands through his glorious hair. “I never doubted that you would find me.” 

Her faith in him made him feel equal parts strong and fearful. How had this woman become more important to him than air? 

He lowered his head and kissed her. A slow kiss developed gradually, it became more passionate as he worked to make sure that she was not frightened or too upset. In fact, she finally forced herself to pull back because she realized they were in danger of losing control in a hospital room with a door halfway open. 

He rested his forehead on hers and focused on getting his equilibrium. “You are an amazing woman, Teresa Lisbon.” 

She gently sighed, “You’re not so bad yourself, Patrick Jane.” 

He reworked their positions in the bed so that he could keep her in his arms without falling off the bed. As he did so he realized, “Hey, they took you off the IVs and the monitors. Wonderful!” 

She nodded, “Dr. Wakefield said all my tests were negative and I can leave in the morning, so I’m glad you brought me something to wear, although that’s not my go-bag.” 

“Oh, your stuff’s in there. I just added some things for me because I knew I’d be here all night,” he explained. 

Teresa laughed and said, “Darling, at some point they’re going to tell you to leave, aren’t they?” 

“Carla told me that as long as we behave ourselves, I can stay here--” she started to interrupt him and he put a finger to her lips to silence her so he could continue “--and I WILL stay here. That chair has a footstool and I’ll be perfectly content as long as I can wake and see you here.” 

Since it was what she wanted too, she decided not to argue. She sighed and said, “Well, since you’re here, is there any chance you thought to bring something to eat?” 

Jane gave her his patented slow sly grin and said, “I believe I can find something for you to nibble on.” 

Teresa rolled her eyes even as she laughed before he got off the bed and picked up the duffle bag where he pulled out a cold container with a chicken salad sandwich, a small bag of corn chips, and a bottle of water. 

“Aww! Thank you!” Teresa said and started opening the baggie with the sandwich before she stopped and looked around. “Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

“Oh, sorry. Yes,” he answered as he pulled another container out with a turkey sandwich, chips, and another bottle of water. 

They ate in relaxed manner, talking about non-consequential matters. Except for the hospital room and Lisbon’s incredible array of bruises, it could have been a normal evening for them. 

After they had finished and Jane had tossed the litter into the trashcan, he sat down in the wingback chair and flipped the footstool up for his legs. Teresa smiled at him and lowered herself a little further in bed. 

Diane, the nurse that relieved Carla, came in and took Lisbon’s vitals. She had been told to ignore the fact that Mr. Jane was staying in the room and she was more than happy to do it. She had heard about what the agent had been through and she was more than willing to bend the rules for her. 

When the nurse completed her task, Lisbon got up and carefully walked to the bathroom. Leaving Jane and the nurse in the room. Diane wrote down the numbers on the chart and was about to leave when she stopped. “Mr. Jane, this was dropped off for you a little while ago.” 

She pulled a small cloth bag and handed it to Jane along with a folded note. For a brief second, Jane seemed puzzled but then he recognized the pattern on the bag as that belonging to the jewelers’ across the street. “Oh, thank you!” 

Lisbon came back out of the bathroom and saw that Diane had not left the room yet. “Excuse me, but would it be alright if I took a shower?”

Diane knew that either she or a nurse’s aide should assist Teresa but she also knew that Teresa probably wanted to be able to stand under the shower by herself to wash away the feel of the captivity. “Well, I’m really not supposed to let you do that alone…” 

“I promise if I run into a problem I’ll yell for help and I’ll tell anyone that asks that you didn’t know a thing about it,” Lisbon assured the kind nurse. 

Diane sighed. “Okay, but please be careful.” 

Teresa practically squealed with delight. “Thank you so much!” 

She grabbed at the duffle bag, pulled out a few items, and went into the bathroom. Jane watched her shut the door and smiled. “Thanks, Diane.” 

Diane laughed, “Sure Mr. Jane, just don’t tell anyone on the day shift. They hate it when we make them look like the mean ones.” 

Jane heard the shower starting as Diane walked out of the room. She ran the shower long enough for Jane to get a little worried before he heard the water stop. It was another fifteen minutes before she reappeared in the hospital gown but looking delightfully fresh and beautiful for a woman with more bruises than he wanted to count. 

“Feel better?” he asked. 

“Somewhat,” she said not as chipper as she had been. 

Patrick helped Teresa get settled back in bed and watched her close her eyes briefly. 

“Are you in pain?” he asked.

She shook her head and turned her head towards him. “I’m sorry. I just got a really good look at myself in the mirror. I think my vanity was just tweaked.” 

He leaned over her and said, “You are beautiful with or without bruises. Your beauty shines out of you and can’t be dimmed by fists.” 

He gently kissed her bruised eye and then her neck. 

When he pulled back he looked into her tired eyes and started to tell her to get some sleep when he remember the cloth bag. 

“I almost forgot. I had Jan, your protector, run an errand for me today. He pulled the bag out of his pocket and handed it to her.

She perked up, looked inside, then tipped it over and let the contents fall into her hand. “My cross! You got it fixed.” 

She squeezed it in her hand and held it tight. “Oh, thank you, my love. You are truly good to me.” 

He took the cross from her, helped her sit forward, and then fastened it around her neck. She leaned back and sighed. Soon she was drifting off to sleep with Jane sitting in the chair watching over her. 

Seeing her inner strength was just the motivation he needed to see this through to the end. Tomorrow they would crack Davey and make sure that he went to jail for a very long time. 

TBC--


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update. Real life just gets in the way sometimes...

Chapter 21

As they exited the hospital, Teresa inhaled as deeply as she possibly could. It was the first time in DAYS that she had been outdoors. Patrick stood beside her and quietly let her have this moment. After all, she had been very nice about conceding to the hospital’s demand that she use a wheelchair all the way to the exit. 

She put on her sunglasses as much to keep people from noticing her black eye as to protect her against the sun, and said, “I think we should go straight to the office.” 

“Sweetheart, don’t you think you should go home and rest?” He asked in a gentle concerned voice. 

Teresa was done with feeling like a delicate flower. She was a federal agent who had an assignment to complete. The look she gave him expressed all of this as she said, “I have been resting for over a day. I have no broken bones or internal bleeding. Even the doctor said I can get back to my normal life.” 

She began walking toward the parking lot as Patrick muttered, “That’s only because the doctor has no idea what our NORMAL lives are like.” 

She turned and asked, “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“Nope, no, not a thing,” he replied innocently. 

They arrived in the bullpen and as agents turned and saw them, the applause began. By the time, Lisbon dropped her bag on her desk everyone was standing and cheering. Slightly embarrassed she waved, said thank you, and headed to Abbott’s office with Jane. 

Abbott smiled as the partners walked in, “It sounds like the return of conquering heroes out there.” 

“More like, congratulations on surviving,” Lisbon only half joked in response before starting to get down to business. “Sir, do you know if my gun is still in that little apartment?” 

Abbott opened a drawer of his desk, shook his head, and produced her weapon, badge, and Jane’s official I.D. “Wylie cleared it out for you last night. Your personal items are in the trunk of his car.” 

“Thank you,” they both said as they took their items off the desk. 

Abbott got back to business. “Now then, we have Tom’s confession and we’re also amending the charges against Melinda Sparks since she knew what they were doing with the drugs they bought from her. At this point, we need to go after Davey.” 

Lisbon nodded and looked to both Abbott and Jane, “I take it there’s already a plan in place?” 

Abbott, looking at Jane, answered. “Yes, sort of. We don’t know exactly what it’s going to take to get him to crack so we’re first going to go in with Cho, again and give him a chance to confess. When that doesn’t work, Jane and I are going to go in and talk to him. He still has no idea that the three of us are FBI.” 

Lisbon smiled, “Ahh. Then may I make a suggestion?” 

Jane cocked his head and said, “By all means, please do.”

“Don’t let him know that I’m here. Let him think that I’m still in the hospital. Wait and let me be the final push,” she suggested. 

Abbott and Jane looked to one another and agreed as Abbott’s phone rang. It was Cho. They had Davey back in the box. 

Cho, Abbott, Jane, and Lisbon met in the observation room and Abbott let Cho in on the plan. Cho agreed and left. 

They watched as he entered the room where Davey was sitting with a cup of coffee. “Agent Cho, I really must protest. I’ve been here all night and I still don’t know why.” 

Cho sat down, opened his notebook, and clicked his pen. “Sure you do, Mr. Murray. You’re here because we have questions about your activities in and around the tunnels, the Noted Lady Night Club, and the Honky TexaTonk. Now are you prepared to explain yourself?”

Davey gave him a sad smile, “I’m afraid that no matter how many times you ask, I’ll still have the same answers. I use the tunnels to get around. I know about them from my days selling insurance. I have no idea what else I can tell you.” 

Cho looked at him for a minute and then said, “We have reason to believe that those tunnels were used to transport women who were kidnapped and assaulted. Are you saying you saw no evidence of this?” 

Davey gave Cho a sad sigh, “No, Agent Cho, I’m afraid I didn’t know about it.” 

Cho scribbled in his notebook before his next question. “Do you know Melinda Sparks?” 

Davey stared at Cho and for a minute, perhaps weighing his response, “I believe that she is, or was, Tom McNolt’s girlfriend. I thought I heard Tom say that he hadn’t seen her in a few days. That she had disappeared around the time that there was a drug bust in the parking lot of the Noted Lady. Maybe you should talk with the Austin Police Department?” 

Cho scribbled again. “Does the name Eileen Harrington mean anything to you?”

Davey sat back and narrowed his stare at Cho. “I believe you’re referring to my ex-wife.”

“When did you get divorced? I could find no record of that,” Cho said with his hand poised to write down the information. 

Davey shrugged, “We might as well be divorced. I haven’t seen her in years.” 

“Why is that?” Cho asked. 

Davey rolled his eyes, “Agent Cho, my -- wife -- is prone to fits and hysterics. I finally gave up on figuring out what her problems are. She was there and then she wasn’t. End of story.” 

Cho looked at his notebook and back to Davey. “Doesn’t she have a half-brother? From her mother’s remarriage to a man named McNolt?”

Davey froze. Cho believed that he could see the wheels in Davey’s brain stop moving. However, he managed to pull himself together and smile, “Agent Cho, you are thorough. I guess I should confess now.” 

It was Cho’s turn to become cautious and the three people standing in the observation room become completely still. 

Davey continued. “I confess that I lied about knowing Tom McNolt. He is my wife’s half-brother. Given the current relationship between my wife and myself, it’s confusing for Tom, so we don’t talk about it.” 

Davey finished with a benevolent smile that Cho wanted to wipe off his face. However, Cho continued his stoic form. “You taught English before you sold insurance, is that correct?” 

Davey nodded. “Yes, I taught writing.”

Cho asked, “Did your students like you?”

Davey snorted with laughter, “My dear sir, no professor is universally liked. If you’re doing your job right, someone will always dislike you.” 

Cho nodded. “Why did you stop teaching?”

Davey explained, “I was an adjunct. I was hired to teach classes when faculty didn’t have time to cover a course. As such, I only got paid per course and I needed a steadier income.” 

Cho closed his notebook. The best he had hoped was to make Davey nervous regarding all the background information they had, and he believed he had done that. The next step was to let Abbott and Jane have a crack at him. 

“If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Murray,” Cho said as he got up. 

“Agent Cho, I’m cooperating fully, but this has become ridiculous. How long will we be doing this?” Davey asked irritably. 

Cho let himself have the faintest hint of a smirk. “It shouldn’t be much longer.” 

Cho left and the group in observation watched as Davey carefully sat there and stared at the mirror. He knew that he was being watched so he was overly concerned with the idea of behaving suspiciously. 

Cho closed the door and said to Abbott and Jane, “I think he’s ready for you.” 

Before he left, Lisbon grabbed Jane’s hand to stop him. He looked back at her and she said, “Remember, I want to get a chance to share in the fun, too, so no trying to kill him, okay?”

Jane winked, “I think there will be plenty of fun for everyone.” 

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Abbott and Jane entered the interrogation room and watched as Davey’s face went from confident to confused. 

“Hello, Davey.” To a stranger, Jane’s tone may have seemed friendly but to those who knew him it was anything but that. Cho, watching with Lisbon in observation, actually felt a chill go down his spine. 

Seeing Denny dressed in a suit and Jake wearing a suit with a vest but no tie, Davey decided to focus on the friendlier looking of the two and smiled, “Well, hello, Jake.” 

“I hope you haven’t been trapped here for too long,” Jane said sympathetically. “I’m sure being stuck in that chair all day and all night is not something you would want to wish on your worst enemy.” 

Davey chuckled not seeming to get the reference. “I’m fine, Jake. I just can’t understand why I’m here, or at this point, why you’re here.” 

“Oh, well I guess I should explain,” Jane said with innocent eyes. “You see, Dennis here is an FBI agent. He was sent in undercover to break up a drug ring.”

Abbott leaned forward and said, “Dennis Abbott is my full name. I’m a supervisory agent for the FBI.” 

Davey knew he had to be careful now. “I see. Well, I can see how you pulled it off. You’re an excellent pianist, sir.” 

Abbott smiled, “Thank you.”

Davey turned back to Jane and asked, “Are you an FBI agent?” 

Jane laughed. “Me? An FBI agent? Absolutely not.” 

They let Davey assume that Jake and Terri were civilians the FBI was using to help them with a sting. They weren’t doing anything wrong. They had answered Davey truthfully. It wasn’t their fault if he asked the wrong questions. 

Abbott spoke, “Davey, as you may have heard, my goal was to shut down a drug ring that was operating from the parking lot of the Noted Lady. But if I was able to find out what happened to women who were being attacked there, then I would do that, too.” 

Davey sat forward frowning and leaning his arms on the table in an earnest manner. “Well, believe me, Mr. Abbott, if I could help you, I would. But I just don’t see what I can tell you that will prove helpful.” 

Abbott seemed to consider this answer before he said, “I understand but you would be surprised at what can prove useful.” 

Davey shook his head and said, “Naturally, I want to help but what is it that you think I know?” 

“Well, Davey,” Abbott began, “Let’s put some facts together. One, you are estranged from your wife. Two, you are related to a young man of interest in the abduction cases. Three, you were seen in the vicinity of each victim. Those are the starters for building a circumstantial case. You see where I’m going?”

Davey leaned back in his chair and appeared to ponder Abbott’s words. “Yes, Mr. Abbott, I can see how you could build that case,” he said before he leaned forward and continued in a gentle tone, “However, we both know that it would be so weak that no prosecutor would take it. I told you that I don’t know anything that could help you.” 

Abbott’s eyes narrowed slightly. He was just getting started. “I think there are things you can do. We just have to think a little harder.”

Jane regretted his deal with Lisbon. He wanted to knock the man’s smug expression off his face but he knew she would shoot him for screwing up the case. Therefore, he had sat there like an innocent bystander. Until now. 

If you’re not allowed to kill him, you should be metaphorically allowed to prick him with a fork, he thought. 

“Davey, when you were talking to us yesterday at the club, you said that you thought a lot of women were too promiscuous, or at least had the appearance of being promiscuous, and that if they moderated their behavior these things wouldn’t happen. I thought that was interesting. Do you think that could have something to do with this?” Jane’s tone was decidedly non-judgmental and curious. 

Davey smiled softly, “Well, Jake, since I have no idea who’s doing these terrible things, I can’t speak to his motivations, but I still think that women need to have less power. It’s obvious they don’t know how to use their power and it should go back to those who do.” 

Jane nodded his head as if you was considering Davey’s words. “Interesting. I hadn’t heard this theory before you presented it. Is this something that you’ve thought about for a while? I mean, have you read anything about this as a school of thought, if you will?” 

Davey answered, “There are some men’s groups that have embraced at least some of my argument I’m sure, but I haven’t taken the time to read all the literature. This is something that I developed over years of observation.” 

Jane responded, “Sure. Sure. So do you think it would be a crime to put this theory to a test? To kidnap women in order to modify their behavior for the betterment of society?” 

Davey responded in a confident manner, “I believe that if one’s intentions are good, and the results prove one correct, then maybe it shouldn’t be regarded as a crime.” 

“Well, then, I would think the person responsible for this kidnappings would want to step forward and claim his work, don’t you?” Jane said.

Abbott had followed this closely and saw his moment to step in. “Oh, we do have one of the two in custody.” 

“Really?” Jane said in his best surprised voice before he turned to Davey and said, “You must be right. Someone feels strongly enough about this issue to take responsibility.” 

Davey’s laugh sounded a bit more brittle now. “So as they say, ‘Who dunnit?’” 

Abbott laughed, “Well, I’m not at liberty to say right now. We have to wait for the arraignment. Funny thing is that we haven’t heard the guy saying anything about a nobler purpose. Maybe he doesn’t have one. Maybe the guys behind this are just your average run-of-the-mill perverts.”

Suddenly, Abbott’s phone rang. He looked to see who was calling and then said, “Gentlemen, you’ll have to excuse me for a moment. I must take this.” 

He left and went into the observation room where Lisbon, who had sent him the message, was preparing to go into interrogation. 

Jane who read people better than almost any other person on the planet saw the tell and knew that Abbott had made a slight hit. Jane followed Abbott’s strike by capturing Davey’s attention. “I just realized something, Davey.” 

He stopped and Davey turned to him and asked, “Oh, and what’s that?”

Jane cocked his head to the side and said, “You haven’t asked about Terri.” 

Davey seemed startled. He HAD made a mistake. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I haven’t asked. Please accept my apologies. I think all this FBI stuff has made me quite tired and forgetful of my manners. Have you found her yet?” 

Jane said, “Yes, we have.” 

Davey’s entire body seemed to go on alert. “Why that’s fantastic, Jake. Where was she?” 

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and a woman popped her head in, “Sweetheart, have you seen Agent Abbott?” 

Jane turned his head and saw that Lisbon had put on a light amount of makeup over her bruises that while not covering them completely, allowed one to notice her as well as them. She had also changed into one of her “daytime” Terri Lipton outfits that included a tight T-shirt with bare mid-drift, a short denim skirt, and a pair of 3-inch wedged sandals. 

Jane answered her by saying, “Uh, isn’t he next door behind the glass?” 

She shook her head with a frown. “Nope. No one is back there.”

Jane said, “Well that’s odd. Why don’t you sit here with Davey and I’ll see what’s going on?” 

As Jane got up, she turned towards Davey with a surprised smile, “Well, hello, Davey! It’s nice to see you! Don’t tell me YOU’RE an undercover agent, too?” 

Davey couldn’t hide his surprise at seeing her here and in such a relaxed and confident mood. “Umm. What? Uh, no.”

He tried to cover with a laugh before continuing, “Young lady, you had some folks very worried about you.” 

Lisbon gave him her best Terri smile even as she dreamed of tying him to a chair and beating on him for a few days, “Well, Davey, it wasn’t my fault.” 

He made his face look concerned as he asked, “What happened, Terri?”

She shook her head in a slightly bemused fashion. “One minute I was having a great time at the club and the next minute I was in some weird basement with a couple of pathetic guys. I have no idea what they wanted. None of it made any sense.” 

Davey stared at her for a second before speaking. “They never said anything to you?”

Lisbon shrugged, “Well, there was some sort of crap about clothes and being nice, but I didn’t really pay attention to it.” 

Davey was dumbstruck at the woman’s boldness but was unsure how to proceed, “Terri, if someone took you from the club and kept you prisoner, don’t you think you should be concerned with why it happened?” 

Lisbon could tell she was putting him on the hook but she needed to be careful. She didn’t want to lose this big fish. “Oh, believe me, I was not happy and I said so, but I’m not going to let some jackass who can’t get it up unless a woman is tied to a chair tell me how to live my life.” 

Lisbon sat across from her tormentor and enjoyed the role reversal. She crossed her legs and swung her leg back and forth keeping her hands calming folded together. It was an enormous effort on her part, but she believed it would pay off big, too. 

And it did. 

Davey slammed his hands on the table, leaning across it, and hissed at her, “You should be ashamed of yourself. I thought you had promise but you’re no better than any of the others. I knew I should have switched to the shock treatment with you.” 

After only a slight jump when he had slammed his hands, Lisbon continued to swing her crossed leg, sitting back in the chair, and giving Davey a slightly knowing smile. “Is that I’m ‘no better’ or that I’m ‘as good as’ the other women that walked away and never gave you a moment’s notice?” 

Davey snapped. As he lunged at Lisbon he started screaming, “YOU BITCH! I’LL MAKE YOU BEHAVE! YOU WILL LEARN TO OBEY!” 

The door burst open and Patrick Jane, a man who had only ever sought one confrontation in his entire life, led the charge grabbing Davey as he started to shake Lisbon, and shoved him back across the table and onto the floor. He stood over the older man, gripping his shirt collar, and sneered, “Gotcha, you bastard. You just assaulted a federal agent.” 

“What are you talking about?! She entrapped me!” Davey panted as Abbott grabbed Jane and Cho cuffed Davey. 

Lisbon, standing now, leaned across the table and said, “I’m Special Agent, Teresa Lisbon of the FBI,” she pointed to Jane and said, “This is Patrick Jane, our consultant.”

Abbott stepped in saying, “Mr. Murray, you are under arrest for kidnapping and assaulting a federal agent and further charges to be added later. Cho, read him his rights again, and take him to the holding cell.”

Cho, who had handcuffed Murray while Abbott was speaking, strong-armed him through the door and led him towards the elevator. 

Davey growled, “She needs disciplining.”

Cho looked at him and said, “Please, use your right to be silent.” 

“She should learn how to behave,” he kept insisting. 

“Mr. Murray, so far you’ve been a lucky guy. Patrick Jane has known about you for the last 24 hours and you’re still alive. That can’t be said for other men who have threatened those he cares about,” Cho said quietly so only Davey could hear. 

He seemed to get through with that because Davey did calm down and stepped onto the elevator with Cho without further protest. 

Inside the interrogation room, Abbott commended Lisbon and Jane. “You two did a helluva job on this. You should be very proud of yourselves.”

He turned to Jane and said, “Jane, thank you for not killing either suspect and for following the plan.”

Jane murmured his thanks and Abbott knew that the only thing that had kept him “in line” was the risk posed to Lisbon. Abbott knew Jane would do whatever it took to protect her and care for her. 

He turned to Lisbon and said, “Teresa, you are one brave lady and I’m glad you’re okay. However, you will start mandatory counseling tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir,” she said responded. She didn’t argue. First, it would have been useless because regulations were regulations. Second, however, was the fact that she was starting to think that maybe she should talk to someone about what happened. She was trying to make sure that no one would see her shaking but she wasn’t sure how long she could keep up the front. 

Abbott looked back and forth between the two of them before concluding, “Lisbon, we have your statement, so you can start the paperwork tomorrow. Why don’t you let Jane take you home.” 

Lisbon started to protest and Abbott interrupted, “I was trying to be polite and not make that an order, but please consider it so.” 

Lisbon gave him a weak smile as he left the room. She turned to Jane who opened his arms and she collapsed into them. He held her firmly trying not to squeeze since he knew her ribs were still sore. 

“You did it, Teresa, you got him” he whispered as he ran his hands up and down her back in a soothing caress. 

“We got them, Patrick,” she countered. 

He stepped back and took her hand. “Let’s go home.” 

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the reader: It is about to become painfully obvious much like my previous lack of medical experience, you will now realize that I am not lawyer. The only law school I have ever attended was the Law & Order Matlock Perry Mason Academy. However, I really wanted to follow this case to more of a conclusion than the arrest. Cheers! Archijenn

Chapter 23

 

The entire drive home, Lisbon was quiet. She said nothing and stared out the side window. Jane could tell she was lost in her own world and he didn’t feel that he should intrude. 

Arriving at their garden apartment, Lisbon, as usual, didn’t wait for Jane to open her door and stepped out of the car. She stared at the building that housed their bright cheery home and looked at it with a weary smile. She had used a great deal of emotional energy today and she was feeling it now. Turning to Jane, she waited as he came to her and then putting an arm around his waist, they went inside. 

Teresa looked around their home with fresh eyes. She loved the way they had combined their styles-- her traditional and his minimalist. It felt like she walked into the most comforting place possible and she sat down on the couch and let it soak in. 

Jane had taken her go bag into the bedroom and placed it by the closet. He knew at some point she would want to go through it, but right now, it would be out of the way. He then made a detour to the kitchen to see if there was anything there for them to eat. He was surprised to see a note on the counter from Wylie. “Jane, We thought the milk would be expired and nothing would be safe to eat so we did a little shopping for you. Wylie & Jan.” 

Jane smiled and looked in the refrigerator. The basics were covered, as well as, a small rotisserie chicken and some salads. “Thanks, guys,” he said to himself as he closed the door and walked into the living room. 

He stopped as he entered the room. Teresa was sitting on the edge of the couch visibly shaking. “Teresa, are you okay?” 

She looked up at him and suddenly stood up, ran across the room, and jumped into his arms. She was crying, shaking, and holding onto him as if he were her only lifeline. He held her tight and tried to soothe her. 

At first, he couldn’t make out what she was saying. Eventually, he picked her up and sat them both down in the large overstuffed armchair with her in his lap. He reached over to the table next to the chair and pulled some tissues from the box. He handed them to her while he ran his hands through her hair brushing it back from her face. He was scared because he had never seen her like this. 

“Teresa, sweetheart, what are you saying?” He asked as he rubbed her arms hoping to calm her. 

She sniffled into the tissues and tried to take a deep breath that ended up with little hiccups. “It just hit me how close we came to disaster.”

“Shh. But we didn’t have a disaster,” he tried to calm her. 

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and said, “I was terrified that I had pushed them too far and I wouldn’t get to see you again. I could stand all the other stuff, but it was the idea that you and I--”

She, again, hugged him tight before she finished, “I didn’t want to leave you as much as I didn’t want to die.” 

Patrick’s eyes now grew misty. “Teresa, if I ever needed evidence that we are perfect for each other, you just supplied it. I may be the only person on the planet that could understand what you just said.” 

She let out a short watery chuckle before reached up and stroked his face, “I’ve been in law enforcement for a long time and with that comes the acceptance that what I do is dangerous and could cause me harm; even fatal harm. What dawned on me today is that with that acceptance NOW comes the OBVIOUS conclusion that I also would never see you, touch you, or feel your touch again. I realized again that you’re the most important thing in my world. There’s nothing for me without you. I can’t lose you and I’ll always do whatever it takes to get back to you.” 

Patrick’s eyes closed briefly. Having already experienced his moment of clarity regarding the mortality of their relationship, he knew how terrifying that could be. “When I lost Angela and Charlotte, I couldn’t believe that I could find the kind of love you and I have. I thought that part of my life was gone forever. Then this sassy, smart, adorable, little woman with more emotional strength than anyone could ever imagine LITERALLY picked me up off the floor and slowly but surely brought me back to the land of the living. Along the way, she found the rusted key to my heart and opened it. Someone can’t defeat a woman that strong, not a Davey or Tom. No matter what, I will always find a way to get to you.” 

Knowing she was still sore, he gently kissed her and held her while she drifted off to sleep. He stared out the window and listened to her breathing. It was the most peaceful moment he had experienced in years.

Teresa awoke about an hour later slightly disoriented for a second. She couldn’t believe she was right where she wanted to be. She brought her head up and looked into sea green eyes that were smiling back at her. Looking around, she realized that she had trapped him in the chair while she napped on top of him. 

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. You must be tired of sitting here waiting for me to wake up,” she said as she began moving to get up. 

He let her go only because someone had held her down too much this week. “I’ve been missing you a lot and I’m always happiest when you’re as close as possible.” 

She had stood up but he still heard her stomach growl. He laughed and said, “Well, that answers my next question about food.” 

She returned his laugh and said, “I’m suddenly hungry. Do we have anything edible in the house?” 

He stood up, took her by the hand, and led her to the kitchen to view Wylie and Jan’s handiwork. “Oh, bless them! If you carve the chicken, I’ll set the table.” 

That night, Patrick slowly helped Teresa undress as she in turn helped him. Only then did he proceed to worship her body paying special attention to the areas that had been so seriously abused. 

When she was finally able to catch her breath, she pulled his head down to hers in a warm slow kiss that he returned in exhausted fulfillment. 

“Is it just me or are we becoming really, really good at this?” Teresa teased. 

Gathering her beside him he and pulling the sheet over their bodies he answered, “Practice, practice, practice.” 

She fell asleep giggling.

 

Over the next few weeks, the team worked with the District Attorney for Austin making sure that everything was done correctly with no loopholes. D.A. Nancy Chambers was an older woman who inspired a great deal of faith and confidence so the day she walked into the conference room looking irritated and annoyed, everyone knew that something had happened. 

“Our office has processed plea deals for everyone--” as everyone in the room started to respond with relief she raised her hand to still the noise and continued, “-- except Davey Murray.” 

“What? Why?” Lisbon was definitely surprised. 

Nancy looked at her and shook her head. “The guy has decided that he wants to go to trial so that he can have a chance to speak.” 

Cho leaned forward frowning, “He’s aware that we have the evidence to bury him, right?”

“I explained that to him, and he knows it, but he’s decided he can represent himself and become famous,” Nancy explained in a resigned tone.

“He can do this? There’s no way to stop him?” Lisbon knew the answers to these questions but the thought of going through a trial was something she really didn’t want to think about. He was a sick monster and she had hoped never to see him again. 

“It’s his Constitutional right, Teresa,” Nancy reminded her. “However, with our case, I don’t foresee a problem.” 

Jane had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He flashed back to his own trial after he shot and killed Timothy Carter in a mistaken attempt to kill Red John. He defended himself. He was guilty of murder and he was acquitted. He looked up and saw Lisbon watching him. He knew she had the same thought. 

“We can’t assume anything, so we better get to work, folks,” was Abbott one response. 

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Davey slowly stood up. He appeared to be gathering his thoughts. “Mr. Jane, what was your previous career?”

“Objection. Immaterial, your honor,” Nancy interrupted. 

Davey protested, “Your honor, I’m merely trying to establish a thorough record of Mr. Jane’s qualifications.” 

The judge nodded, “I’ll allow the question. Mr. Jane, please answer Mr. Murray.” 

“I worked with the CBI, California Bureau of Investigation, in basically the same capacity,” Jane answered. 

“You worked with Agent Lisbon there?” 

“Yes, I did,” Jane responded carefully.

“Where did you work before that?” Murray asked. 

“Your Honor, Mr. Jane’s employment history is not the issue here,” Nancy complained. 

The Judge Burr turned to Davey and said, “Mr. Murray, I do not see how going back through years and years of employment history impacts this case.” 

“Your honor, if you will grant me a little more latitude, I will connect everything together,” Davey pleaded. 

The judge sighed, “Very well, but if I don’t see progress soon, I’m cutting this off.”

“Thank you, sir,” Davey replied. 

The judge turned to Jane and said, “Please answer the question Mr. Jane.” 

“Prior to my work at the CBI, I made a living as a psychic,” Jane said in as concise a manner as possible. 

“A psychic? You can read people’s minds?” Davey asked in a studied shock manner while looking at the jury. 

Jane knew where Davey was going with all this. He was attempting to discredit Jane and it just might work, but Jane was hoping to draw this out long enough to frustrate the judge and get the trial back on track. 

“No, I can’t. However, I made people believe I could by reading their faces and making educated guesses about their lives,” he answered.

“So you conned them,” Davey suggested.

Jane pursed his lips for a moment before answering, “Perhaps in some cases, but mostly I told people what they wanted to hear, what they expected to hear, or what they needed to hear.”

“In fact, the only reason you stopped this behavior was because your wife and daughter were murdered as a direct result of your behavior. Isn’t that true?” Davey challenged. 

There were a few gasps from the gallery but overall the room was completely silent. Jane had spent many years punishing himself for what had happened. He had replayed that last evening on television a million times trying to change what happened. He still felt the pain and sadness, but it was dulled by the knowledge that he would never have spoken if he had known more about Red John and he had learned to forgive himself. 

“My family was killed by a serial killer named Red John who did not like the rather accurate profile I created of him on television and he felt the need to punish me for it,” Jane answered while looking back and forth between Davey and the jury. 

“Finding this serial killer was the reason you started working with Agent Lisbon, is it not?” Davey asked. 

“Yes.” 

“And along the way, you had close encounters with people that were associated with Red John-- men like Timothy Carter. Correct?” Davey asked. 

“Yes.”

“What happened to Timothy Carter?” Davey questioned. 

“He told me he was Red John and that he was responsible for the death of my family. I killed him before it was discovered that he was not Red John but was, in fact, a pedophile who, at that moment, had a young woman tied up in his basement-- much like Agent Lisbon was tied up in a basement.” Jane concluded. 

Davey hadn’t expected the answer to sound so reasonable and almost justified. Jane could tell that Davey now had to rethink his strategy. 

“When did your work with the CBI conclude, Mr. Jane?” Davey asked. 

And now they were getting into tricky ground. Jane wasn’t ashamed of what he had done. It had to be done and he was the only person who could do it. However, he had too much to lose now and he didn’t want to make a mistake and end up in prison. 

He hesitated only briefly before answering, “Over three years ago.” 

“Was that about the same time that Sheriff Tom McAllister was found dead in a park and shortly after three other men associated with the Red John case were found dead? Two on property you owned?” Davey pursued. 

“Yes.”

“What happened after these men died? I mean, what did you do?” Davey asked.

“I’m not sure what you mean?” Jane asked.

“Your Honor, may we approach?” Nancy requested. 

The judge turned off the microphone and allowed the prosecutor, Davey, and his advisor to come to the bench. 

“Your honor, whatever or wherever Patrick Jane was for two years before joining the FBI is not relevant to this case. It touches on matters that the FBI has sealed and should not be discussed in this courtroom,” Nancy explained quietly. 

Judge Burr slightly nodded having an idea of what this was about but he had to hear Davey’s response. He turned to the defendant who said in hushed tones, “Sir, this man’s credibility should be open for question. That’s all I’m trying to do here.” 

The judge thought for a moment and said, “You may question the witness regarding his expert abilities and anything that pertains to this case. However, I have seen nothing that allows me to believe that your fishing exhibition has netted anything of value. Therefore, questions about Mr. Jane’s movements between his work at the CBI and the FBI are off limits. You may all step back now.”

The judge turned to Jane and said, “The witness will disregard the last question.”

Davey thought for a moment and said, “You were acquitted in the murder of Timothy Carter, were you not?” 

Nancy was just sitting down and jumped back up, “Objection, irrelevant.” 

“Sustained. Move along, Mr. Murray.” 

“Mr. Jane, you said that you and Agent Lisbon had no problem playing lovers for this assignment because you are in fact living together, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Just for clarity, you are having a sexual relationship with the woman who was your boss and is now your professional partner.”

Jane gave Davey a slow smile, raised his eyebrow, and answered, “Yes, Mr. Murray, I believe we are all clear on that.” 

A few people in the courtroom snickered and three women on the jury were almost looking lasciviously at Jane. 

“If the assignment had called for Agent Lisbon to live with another man would you have felt as comfortable with it?” Davey asked. 

“Objection. Irrelevant.” Nancy said irritably. This cross-examination had become very tiresome. 

Before the judge could rule, Jane raised a hand and said, “Excuse me, but may I answer that, your Honor?” 

The judge shrugged and said, “Fine. Overruled.” 

Jane turned to Davey and said, “Would I be comfortable with the woman I love living with another man for a work assignment? ‘Comfortable?’ Probably not. However, I wouldn’t protest it because I know Teresa Lisbon and I have delighted in trusting her with my heart and soul for a very long time. Therefore, I would accept it.”

Nancy, who would later deny it, felt a lump form in her throat and she looked at the jury and noticed a couple women smile at Jane. The man’s charm could win over a hungry bear trying to get to a cooler of salmon. 

“You weren’t disturbed by Agent Lisbon’s behavior when she sat in men’s laps, put her arms around them, and kissed them? You’re a much more understanding lover than most men would be,” Davey scoffed. 

Jane leaned back and chuckled. “Agent Lisbon selected men that she felt could be trusted not to take advantage of her. She was never going to create a situation that would have caused problems for any of us to maintain our covers. She, to use your word, flirted with what could be deemed safe men. Men who were much older than her and especially men who appeared to be happily married with wives that approved.” 

Davey countered, “But every man in the room got to view the short skirts and skimpy tops. She put everything on display for all to see. You want me to believe that you didn’t find that in any way objectionable.” 

Jane smiled and shook his head, “First, the wardrobe she had for the assignment was selected by her AND another agent. All pieces were decided as a team effort. Second, I don’t think I have the right to tell her what she can and cannot wear, because, third, she has the right to wear whatever she chooses. She thought I looked well put together, too, and she saw women flirting with me but she didn’t ask me to change, so why would I ask her?”

“You aren’t concerned that she’s flaunting herself to other men?” Davey asked skeptically. 

Jane sighed, “Her clothing was perfectly acceptable for an evening at a club. She was dressed as a performer and she looked beautiful. She IS beautiful. It’s not the clothing, it’s the person wearing the clothing. Why can’t she wear clothing that accentuates her looks?” 

Nancy stood once more, “Your Honor, I think we are once again going off track.” 

Judge nodded, “Sustained. Mr. Murray, do you have any case-related questions for Mr. Jane?” 

Davey’s shoulders slumped slightly and he said, “No, sir.”

The judge turned to the prosecutor, “Redirect, Ms. Chambers?” 

Nancy thought for a moment. She hated continuing this but since the women on the panel were all half way in love with Jane and she did want to reinforce the point of the trial she said, “Yes, sir.” 

“Mr. Jane, was there any question regarding Agent Lisbon’s behavior? Was she out of line for her assignment?”

“No.”

“Was she dressed objectionably?”

“No.”

“Out of curiosity, how do you think she was dressed?”

Jane leaned forward to make sure his voice was heard in the microphone, “Beautifully, as always.” 

Nancy smiled at him and the two exchanged a silent, “Nailed it!”

“Thank you, Mr. Jane.” 

The judge told Jane he could step down. Jane went into the gallery and sat down next to the team. Only after each person completed testimony was he or she allowed to stay in the courtroom. All awaited the final witness. 

Nancy was still standing and said, “Your Honor, the prosecution calls its next witness, Teresa Lisbon.” 

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

A buzz swirled among the gallery. Here was the woman who had created such a stir. 

The door to the courtroom opened and petite brunette walked in. She was wearing a dark charcoal grey wool suit and a deep green silk blouse. The suit jacket had slim lapels and tapered to the waist before flaring at the hip. The skirt was a slim pencil style that ended just above knee. She wore black pumps with a two-inch heel. Her hair was down and curling around her shoulders and her makeup was applied with a light touch that highlighted her features and her bright green eyes. Around her neck was a gold cross and small emerald teardrops could be seen on each ear. 

She walked tall and confidently into the court and to the witness stand. When told, she raised her right hand and swore to tell the truth. She was seated with legs crossed and hands folded in her lap as she stated her name and employment for the record. 

Nancy and Teresa looked at each other and each woman had taken a deep breath. They both knew that Teresa could make or break the case. Nancy stood up and walked around her table. 

“Agent Lisbon, you are a federal agent working for the FBI office in Austin, is that correct?” 

Teresa’s voice was quietly assured as she began answering the prosecutor’s questions. “Yes, I work in Supervisory Agent Dennis Abbott’s unit.”

 

“How long have you worked for the FBI?” Nancy asked.

“For more than a year now.” Teresa answered.

“And before that?”

Teresa had not been in the courtroom and so was not aware of Davey’s arduous tour through the employment history of witnesses. She was a bit surprised by this, but answered anyway. “I served as the Chief of Police in Cannon River, Washington for almost two years.” 

“And prior to that position you were with the California Bureau of Investigation for how long?” Nancy asked knowing the answer.

“I was there for about twelve years,” Teresa responded. 

“So it’s safe to assume that you’ve been in law enforcement for a long time-- probably close to twenty years, is that correct?” Nancy asked. 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Thank you, Agent Lisbon. Now I would like to move on to your assignment on the case in question in this court. What was your role or responsibility?” Nancy asked as she leaned against the table. 

Teresa swallowed, sat up straighter and began as they had suggested during prep sessions. “Agent Abbott asked me to go undercover at the Noted Lady nightclub as a lounge singer named Terri Lipton. I was to observe what was happening in the club among the guests and the employees and to assist other undercover operatives in shutting down a drug ring and finding a serial attacker.” 

“Out of curiosity, do you sing Agent Lisbon?” Nancy asked with a confidential grin towards the jury. 

“Well, yes I do. I’m not sure I’m the kind of quality needed to pull off such a position for a lifetime, but I’m not terrible either,” Teresa said with a self-deprecating shrug. 

“From what we heard from some earlier witnesses, that’s being modest Agent Lisbon. They said you sounded good,” Nancy said in the hope of recalling in the jurors’ minds some early testimony from some of the club patrons who thought Terri Lipton was the bees knees. 

Teresa smiled fondly, “The people who came to the club were very kind.”

“So the nights you worked at the club you sang and watched for possible drug movement and other suspicious behavior. What happened the last night you were there?” Nancy asked. 

Teresa was ready. They had gone over this a number of times. However, this was the first time she was going to discuss it completely with so many strangers. “That evening, because it was a Sunday, I was only doing one set. However, Mr. Calhoun came backstage before I started to ask me to do a few more numbers and Agent Abbott-- or Denny Abbs as he was known-- and I agreed.” 

“How was the set?” Nancy asked quietly. 

“It was good, I thought,” Teresa said with a nod. “We had a number of people who said so and no one left during the evening.” 

“What happened when you finished singing?”

“Agent Abbott and I walked to the back of the room and met up with our colleague Patrick Jane at the bar. Agent Abbott and I told him that we were going around through the side entrance and backstage to get ready to leave for the evening. He said he would join us in about five minutes because he wanted to check the room one more time.” 

Nancy didn’t interrupt Teresa so she continued, “When we got back there I was cold and I wanted to put on a sweater but the top I was wearing would have made me feel bulky so I went into the restroom to change.” 

Teresa frowned a bit as she mentally went back into the bathroom. “I turned on the light as I closed the door and before I could do or say anything I felt a tingling in my right side and I collapsed as I heard a loud crack inside my head. It was a bit blurry for a while after that. I had the sensation of being carried and I felt a needle prick in left arm and then I remember nothing until I woke up tied to a chair in a basement.” 

“What did you do then?”

“I tried to look around but it was hard to see anything because it was so dark. I didn’t feel that I had any broken bones and I didn’t feel bad except that my mouth was dry, I had a headache, and my shoulder felt like it was sunburnt.”

“I yelled for help but no one heard me. I couldn’t be sure if the communication piece was still in my ear but since no one answered my cry for help, I had to assume either it was off or gone.” 

“How long were you down there before you heard or saw anyone?” 

“I’m not completely sure. It seemed like a short amount of time, maybe a half hour? I’m sorry, but given the fact I couldn’t move and it was very dark, I’m unclear.” 

“Understandable,” Nancy said with a nod and a glance at the jury. Sympathy was rising. They had to nurture that without going too far. It was best to let Teresa tell the story. 

“What do you remember next?”

“A man came downstairs and said that I was being held there to learn better manners and how to behave like a proper young woman. I tried to reason with him but he wouldn’t listen. He started asking me where my place was. I wasn’t sure what he meant and I didn’t know how to answer.” 

“Before we go further, Teresa, I need to ask you if you recognize the man who was talking to you.” Nancy said. 

“Yes. It was the defendant, David Murray.” 

“You said it was dark in the room. Very dark. Did he turn a light on or not wear any covering on his face? How sure are you?” 

“I’m very sure. He came in wearing the type of hat with a light on it that miners use. At first, the light on it was blinding, but I forced myself to look below the light and to the right. When I did that, I could make out his face.” 

“I see. Please continue.” 

Teresa stopped and inhaled slowly before starting again. “I said I didn’t know what he was talking about and that’s when he hit me for the first time. He slapped me across the face hard enough that I saw speckles of light in my vision. I was trying to come back from the slap when he said he was going to have to use other methods to get me to behave and anything he did to me was my fault.” 

Patrick, sitting in the gallery, knew the story. While he had not been allowed to be with her when she talked to D.A. Chambers, they had talked about it after her therapy sessions. However, he realized now that she had spared him some of the first person account. This was going to be very difficult. All he wanted to do was save the courts and the jail system a lot of time and money by throwing Davey under a truck. Instead, he sat still and listened quietly. What comforted him was looking to his right and seeing Cho’s hands death gripped together. 

“What other methods was he referring to, Agent Lisbon?” Nancy asked.

“He drugged me repeatedly,” Lisbon responded succinctly. 

“Do you know with what?”

Lisbon shook her head, “No, ma’am, he did not tell me what he was using.”

“So you had no idea what it was, the effect it would have on you, or any long term damage it would cause?” Nancy allowed the statement to be a question. 

“No, ma’am.”

“Did you protest?” 

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How?”

“I begged him not to inject me,” Lisbon responded swallowing hard. Pleading was not something that she wanted to admit to, and having it as part of the public record galled her, but there was no choice. 

“What happened when you were drugged?” Nancy asked. 

Lisbon sighed. “I don’t remember all of it. He seemed to use a varying group of drugs because they didn’t always have the same effect. With some, I completely blacked out and with others it was as if I was there but I had no control over my body.” 

“When you were, as you put it, out of control of your body were you aware of what was happening around you?” 

“Yes, I knew that Mr. Murray and his partner Tom McNolt were asking me about how a true lady should behave in public and how she should keep her husband happy at home,” Lisbon answered. 

“What were the answers to these questions, do you know?”

“I believe that they wanted me to answer that a woman should only look to her husband or male escort as the authority in all things and should defer to him,” Lisbon responded. 

“Was that what you believe and what you told them?”

Lisbon smiled for the first time. “Um, no, I don’t believe that and as far as I know I never agreed with them. When I was conscious enough to know what I was saying, I disagreed.” 

“What happened when you disagreed?”

“I was physically abused.”

“Agent Lisbon, I know it’s painful, but the court needs to hear what they did,” Nancy said gently. 

Lisbon nodded and found a spot on the wall in the back to stare at that helped her keep her head up while she spoke but allowed her not to make eye contact with any of her friends/ colleagues or Jane. This was going to be hard enough. 

“As I said, the first time I refused to agree with Mr. Murray, he slapped me. He would continue to slap me occasionally to make his point. The second time he and Mr. McNolt had what they called a session with me, Mr. Murray decided that I was drugged enough to be submissive and could be untied. Once I was untied, they decided to have me practice walking a step behind them. I wasn’t as out of it as they thought and I tried to get away. I tripped Mr. Murray, punched Mr. McNolt in the throat, and ran up the stairs. However, before I could get the door open, Mr. Murray caught me and dragged me back down. When we got to the bottom, he threw me to the floor and Mr. McNolt who was very angry started kicking me in my ribs and when I was rolling to protect the side he was hurting, he tried stomping on me and landed on my upper thighs.” 

Nancy saw two women on the jury grimace and three men were shaking their heads. They could see Davey and had witnessed Tom McNolt. It was obvious that each man was much larger than the small built woman on the stand. In a drugged condition, it wasn’t even a close contest. 

“Agent Lisbon, please continue,” Nancy said as she stood next to the jury box. 

“They tied me back to the chair and left me. I either fell asleep or passed out, I’m not sure which. When I came to again, Mr. McNolt was there and he said he was sorry he had kicked me but that I had asked for it.” Lisbon stopped and cocked her head, “It’s funny but I don’t think I have ever in my life said that I wanted to be kicked in the ribs and stomped on.” 

She continued, “He washed off my face and told me that the smartest thing I could do would be to accept what they said. If I did that, I would get to leave faster.” 

“Did you do that?” Nancy asked.

“No, ma’am.”

“Why?”

“The short answer would be that I’m stubborn,” Lisbon said with a short laugh. “However, the more honest answer is that I am an officer of the law. I uphold the law for myself and others and as I will fight for the rights of others I will fight for my own. Agreeing would have been wrong. Also, and just as important to me in this case, I felt a responsibility to protect other women. The level of violence that these two men were exhibiting was escalating. If I let them release me, they might have time to grab another woman before we caught them. I couldn’t let that happen.” 

“Do you remember what happened next?”

“Yes, ma’am. Mr. McNolt left. I heard him whisper to Mr. Murray that he had to go to the club to tend bar. Mr. Murray said he would see him later and he stayed in the basement. When Mr. McNolt was gone, Mr. Murray said we were going to start again. He asked me what I had learned and I said that I had learned that he had issues with women. He grabbed me by the throat and choked me until I was about to pass out. When he stopped, he got a syringe and filled it with something that looked different from the first time. I passed out immediately and when I came to, one shoe was missing, my ankle was sore; my face felt more swollen, and my left breast was hurting. I have no idea what happened when I was out that time.” 

Nancy picked up photographs taken in the ER showing the incredible bruising to Teresa’s left breast, as well as her other parts of her body. “Your Honor, I’m passing these previously marked photographs to the jury to show the bruises to which Agent Lisbon is referring.” 

When there was no objection Nancy said, “Please go on.” 

“They drugged me a few more times but I’m unclear on the exact number of times. Each time, there were threats made and I was choked twice more.” 

“Did you try to get away again?” Nancy asked. 

“I couldn’t. They kept me tied to the chair. They didn’t trust whatever they were using on me because it wasn’t having the desired submissive effect.” 

“So do you think they were trying to kill you?” Nancy regretted asking the question as soon as it came out. She still had hopes of trying Davey separately on the death of one of the previous victims. 

Lisbon realized the error immediately and tried to frame her answer accordingly, “Intentionally, perhaps not. However, I did not feel any compassion from either man and if I had died while I was in that basement, they would have only worried about what to do with my body.” 

Nancy silently thanked Teresa and asked, “Did they continue to cycle through the drugs and the questioning?”

“Yes, ma’am, and the more I continued to resist them, the angrier Mr. Murray became and the more often he slapped and choked me.” 

“Did you fear that you would die there?” Nancy asked.

Lisbon paused. She had worked through this with her therapist. “My mind was of two thoughts on this. I believed that, I would not be left in that basement forever. I knew my partner and my colleagues were moving heaven and earth to find me. It was my job to stay alive until they did. However, I can’t say that the thought that I would be found dead did not enter my head. I was terrified that at some point either the drugs would kill me or Mr. Murray would choke me too long.”

“Agent Lisbon, we have heard statements that your performances as Terri Lipton might be considered by some as highly provocative. Would you agree with that characterization?” Nancy decided to start addressing this issue. 

Lisbon tilted her head and frowned. “Provocative? In what way?”

Nancy explained, “That you were highly sexual.”

Lisbon was not expecting this. She couldn’t stop the short chuckle this produced. “Me? Really? Um. No, I don’t think I was being highly provocative.” 

“What did you wear for your shows?” 

Lisbon tried not to roll her eyes, “Uh, cocktail dresses and high heels.” 

“Are these dresses you would normally wear?”

“To work? No. For a really nice evening out somewhere special? Sure.” Lisbon was starting to understand what was happening. Terri Lipton’s character and possibly her morals had probably been questioned more than once. 

“Did you flirt during your performances?” 

Lisbon answered quickly, “Yes. I would watch the audience during the first number or two and look for older couples that seemed happy and relaxed. I would then come out into the audience, approach those tables, and sing. Sometimes, I would even sit on someone’s knee. Since the wives or significant others weren’t complaining I thought it was fine.”

“Did you give lap dances?”

In shock, Lisbon’s eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped, “Um, uh, What?! NO!!” 

“Just checking. Now Agent Lisbon, after your colleagues found you in the basement of the Honky TexaTonk, what did you do next?”

“I was taken to the hospital where I was admitted for two days for observation. I was dehydrated and had multiple contusions, plus the doctors wanted to make sure that any drugs were out of my system and not causing any side effects.”

“Have you had any counseling since this experience?”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s mandatory and I have completed the full set of sessions with an FBI psychologist.” 

“How are you doing?”

Lisbon smiled, “I’m feeling very well. I have the occasional moment of anxiety but except for the nerves I had about testifying today, everything seems to be going as planned.” 

Nancy smiled encouragingly at Teresa as she said, “Thank you, Agent Lisbon, we’re all glad to hear that you’re going to be okay.”

Turning to the judge, she said, “I have no further questions of this witness, your honor.” 

“Thank you, Ms. Chambers. Your witness, Mr. Murray,” Judge Kenyon announced. 

TBC


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Davey sat and stared at Lisbon for a second before he stood. He pulled a group of files toward him and after consideration pulled one from near the bottom, looked at it, and put it back. Finally, he looked back at Lisbon and gave her what she could only describe as a condescending smile. 

“Good afternoon, Miss Lisbon,” he said. 

“Mr. Murray.”

“As we’ve heard, you were working undercover at the Noted Lady Nightclub, correct?” Davey began. 

“Yes.” While answering Nancy’s questions she easily offered a respectful “ma’am” to each response but she would not-- under any circumstances-- call this creep “sir.” 

Davey seemed to notice because there was a slight twitch to his fingers when she stopped. However, he kept himself under control and continued. 

“In fact, we first met when you came in to sign a contract with the owner, right?”

“Yes.” 

“Were you at all frightened of me that day?” he asked in a gentle voice. 

“No, I wasn’t,” she responded. 

“Over the course of the time you were at the club, did you ever fear me?” he continued. 

“No, I did not.” 

“In fact, I complimented you on your performance each evening, is that right?” 

“Yes.”

“When the-- I’m not sure what it’s called-- mission?-- was planned, what exactly was said about what you were to do? What was the description of your undercover role?” Davey took a slight change in direction. 

Lisbon inhaled and let the breath out slowly as she spoke. “I was to go undercover as Terri Lipton, a singer. I was to observe and support other members of the undercover team.” 

“You were expected to sing and observe?” He asked.

“Yes.” 

“Nothing else?”

“That was the essence of the assignment,” Lisbon answered. 

“Do you enjoy the company of men, Ms. Lisbon?” Davey questioned.

“Objection! Irrelevant!” Nancy knew they were starting down the road of character assassination and victim blame. 

“Sustained.” Judge Burr responded. 

Davey shifted course slightly, “Miss Lisbon, what did you do when you performed at the club?”

“As I said, I sang and observed the crowd,” Lisbon responded.

“So you just sat on stage and sang every night?” 

“No, I moved into the audience during the show because--”

Davey cut her off, “Did you approach tables and sing to the people sitting there?” 

“Yes.”

“Did you do this at tables that were all women or were there men at these tables?” 

“Almost every table I approached did have men since--”

He cut her off again, “When you got to the table what did you do?” 

“I sang.” Lisbon’s tone was a bit clipped. 

“Did you touch the men?”

“Usually.”

“Did you sit on their laps?” 

“Occasionally.” 

“Did you put your arms around them?” 

“Occasionally.”

“Did you kiss these men?”

“On the forehead or cheek, yes.” 

“So you were flirting with them?”

“Innocently, yes.” 

“Did you limit yourself at all? I mean, were you moving from man to man?”

“It would depend on the song.” 

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

Lisbon stopped before she answered, “It was fun, but it was difficult for me to be the center of attention. That’s not normal for me.” 

Davey responded snidely, “Well you fooled everyone in the room, Miss Lisbon.” 

“Objection!” Nancy popped up. 

“Sustained,” Judge Burr ruled. 

“You’re testifying that you had fun sitting on men’s laps and kissing them, correct?” Davey continued.

“No, I am testifying that I had fun singing and playing a character, Terri Lipton, who was comfortable performing in groups,” Lisbon countered. 

Davey looked to the jury as if to say it all meant the same thing. 

“When you performed in front of these men-- and women, you weren’t dressed as you are today, were you?” Davey said. 

“No, I wore cocktail dresses and high heels.” 

“Were the blouses more low cut than what you’re wearing today?”

“Yes.”

“Were the skirts or dresses much shorter than the one you’re wearing today?”

“Shorter? Yes.” 

“Were the shoes a higher heel than you’re wearing today?”

“Yes.” 

“The conservative image you’re trying to give the jury today was very different from the one you were selling at the club, isn’t it?”

“At the club, I was supposed to be a torch singer. This is not a club so the clothes are different,” she responded. 

“What was the purpose of the outfits you wore at the club?” 

“I’m not sure I saw them as having a purpose beyond being standard costuming for my character.”

“Would YOU wear these outfits to a club?”

She thought back for a minute, “I would wear all but the last one. That has too many upsetting memories attached to it.” 

Davey smirked at her. 

“Your testimony here today is that how you acted in the club was not how Teresa Lisbon would behave. Only Terri Lipton, your undercover alter ego, would behave like that, do I have it right?” 

“I am definitely less likely to do that, yes.”

Davey turned to the judge and said, “Why?” 

“Because I rarely sing in public and when I have done so it was at small piano bars after work,” Lisbon responded. She wanted to be careful now. She didn’t want to bring up the whole thing about drinking leading to singing and the reason for the hypnotic suggestion from Jane to relax her. 

Davey knew there was more to this, but he had been unable to find out more, so he moved forward. 

“Were your audience encounters as innocent as you want as to believe?” 

“Yes.” 

Davey believed he had her now. “So your definition of innocent includes curling into a man’s lap, putting your arms around, rubbing your hands in his hair, while you practically suck his face off, and rub your breasts against his chest, is that correct?” 

“What?!” Lisbon asked in a shocked tone as Nancy tried to object, and the gallery got a bit vocal. 

The judge banged his gavel to restore order as he overruled the objection and told the witness to answer the question. 

“NO, that is not my definition. I never sat on any stranger’s lap and did that!” Lisbon snapped. 

“Not even the last night you were at the club?” Davey challenged. 

She stared at him for a minute before realization hit her. “Ohhh. I know what you’re talking about and the answer is that I never did that in a stranger’s lap.” 

“You deny it ever happened?” Davey would have to find out about calling rebuttal witnesses if she was going to lie. 

“No, it happened, but not with a stranger.” Seizing the chance offered in Davey’s momentary confusion, Lisbon turned to the jury and explained, “The last evening I was there, I knew that Patrick Jane was getting close to solving the case. I’ve worked with him for years and I could tell he was close. When I was near the end of the set and thought that it was probably one of the last times I would perform, I took the opportunity to publicly express my love. I had sung songs for years about loving him from afar and not being able to express it to him, so why not do it while I had the chance?” 

Lisbon met Jane’s eyes and they smiled at each other. No one in the room could dispute the love in those glances and the jury was aware of it as well. 

“That was Jake Patterson?” Davey was confused. He must not have seen Jake walk back into the club. He had thought Jane was still in the lobby on the phone. 

“Well, to you he was Jake Patterson, but to me he was and is Patrick Jane,” Lisbon responded. 

Davey glared at her with his hands clenched at his side. She had just made him look foolish and he wished very much to slap her again. He breathed slowly to regain calm. He would have to approach this another way. 

“You’re saying you’re loyal to Mr. Jane, correct?” 

“Yes.” 

“You will not betray his love?” 

“No.” 

“But you will betray other men, is that right?” 

“Objection!” As well as Teresa was doing, Nancy Chambers’ years of experience told her this was another mine field for her witness. 

“Your Honor, I have the right to question Miss Lisbon’s veracity,” Davey argued. 

The judge frowned, “I will allow this but only for a short time. Connect the dots or move on Mr. Murray.”

“Yes, your Honor,” Davey said. 

“I have never intentionally betrayed anyone,” Lisbon argued. 

“How many times have you been engaged to be married?” Davey asked. 

Lisbon felt haunted once more. “Twice.” 

“Once was when you were fresh out of high school but the other was a little over a year ago, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“This would be after you had fallen in love with Patrick Jane?” 

“Yes.” 

“Did you tell Agent Marcus Pike that you would move to Washington DC with him? To live with him?”

“Yes, I did.” 

“And you accepted his marriage proposal but within hours made out with Patrick Jane, is that correct?” 

Teresa couldn’t deny this, “Yes, I did.” 

Jane refused to look away from her. He wanted to shout to everyone there that he was just as guilty as she was for everything that had happened with Pike. If he had just opened up to her when he got back to the U.S., she never would have sought out someone to love her. That’s all it had been, really. Teresa wanted to make sure that she didn’t end up alone and since Jane seemed distant, she looked to someone who wasn’t. Had she been in love with Pike? No, but she had wanted to be in love with someone who would love her back. He understood and eventually Pike understood it, too. Rumor had it that the man was now in a very serious relationship with a Congressional Aide. 

“Miss Lisbon, do you agree that some would call that behavior shocking and, well, slutty?” Davey asked in his best professorial tone. 

“Your Honor, I object to the defense’s use of that word,” Nancy stated. 

“I agree, Ms. Chambers,” Judge Burr stated before turning to the jury saying, “Please disregard the wording of defense’s last question.”

Davey went back to a reworded question knowing that the word was now in the minds of the jury. “Miss Lisbon, would you consider it to be normal behavior for a woman in love with one man to accept the proposal of another man?” 

Lisbon swallowed hard and fought to keep a mist of tears at bay. “No.” 

Davey couldn’t see that her bravery had won her the hearts of a number of the jurors. He thought that everyone would agree with his characterization so he moved on with a great deal of misplaced confidence. 

“Moving back to the night in question, Miss Lisbon, you had sang and flirted your way through the evening and at the end you had come back to the bar, is that correct?” Davey questioned.

“Yes, after the set finished I walked back to the bar,” Lisbon clarified. 

“Did we see each other?”

“Yes, you were sitting on your usual barstool finishing a drink.” 

“Did we exchange words?”

“Yes.”

“Do you recall what it was that we said to each other?” 

Lisbon frowned briefly, “I don’t remember the exact words, but you complimented me on the set and then you left.” 

“Was I the one that attacked you in the bathroom?”

She shook her head, “I don’t know.” 

“When did you decide to blame me for your predicament?” Davey asked. 

Clearly and distinctly Lisbon slowly said, “I saw you.” 

“How? You said that the man kept a light shining in your face, so how can you be so sure?” 

“I managed to focus my eyes away from the light so that I could easily see your face. Also, after a while, you weren’t very good about disguising your voice,” Lisbon replied. It was her turn to use a condescending tone. 

“You said you were under the influence of drugs and physically challenged so how reliable can you identification be?” Davey scoffed. 

Lisbon’s eyes widened and she seemed stunned for a moment. “‘Under the influence’ and ‘physically challenged’? Are those the new buzzwords for given date rape drugs and beaten?” 

“Are you refusing to answer the question, Miss Lisbon?” Davey demanded. 

“First, the drugs were not as effective as you had hoped, so I was more aware than I let on. Second, while I may have been beaten, I was not so far gone that I couldn’t make out your features and voice,” Lisbon insisted. 

“Did you confront this person and ask if he was Davey Murray?” 

Lisbon shook her head, “No, I didn’t have to because I knew it.” 

“You say you were in that basement for over 48 hours and that you would black out from time to time. Have you managed to remember anything more?” 

“No, I haven’t.”

“So it’s possible that you were not strapped to a chair the entire time and could have left if you really wanted to, is that right?” 

“If I was so drugged and hurt that I passed out, I don’t see how I could have walked out of there,” Lisbon countered. 

“You have a history of changing your mind and making embarrassing mistakes. For all we know this could have been another case of that,” Davey said snidely.

“Objection!” Nancy screamed as Cho deliberately stepped on Abbott’s foot to bring him back under control and Abbott gripped Jane’s arm to keep him in his seat. 

The judge slammed his gavel and said forcefully, “Sustained!” 

“Isn’t it possible that the same way you changed your mind about what you were doing with Agent Pike, you changed your mind about being treated rough by a stranger?” Davey asked again. 

“YOUR HONOR, I OBJECT TO THIS WHOLE SERIES OF QUESTIONS!” Nancy shouted as the noise level in the courtroom increased and Cho and Abbott worked to prevent Jane from charging the front of the room. 

“ORDER!” the Judge Burr shouted as he continued to slam the gavel. “I WILL HAVE ORDER IN MY COURTROOM! The jury will disregard the defenses last two groups of questions and the defense is hereby ordered to move on!” 

Jane sat back and worked on controlling his breathing as he glared at Davey. Meanwhile, on the stand Lisbon looked shocked by what Davey was attempting. 

Davey decided that he had made his point so he sat down and told the judge that he had nothing further to ask the witness. 

Nancy who was already standing said, “Your Honor, I would like to redirect, please.” 

Judge Burr wanted to stop for the day but he also wanted to get this ugly part of the proceedings finished. Besides, although he could never admit it to anyone, he felt bad for the victim and found the accused to be downright creepy. He wanted this trial over! He nodded. “Proceed.” 

Nancy calmed herself and decided to try and do some character clean up. “Agent Lisbon, were you engaged to marry Agent Pike.”

“Yes, ma’am, I did agree to marry him at a time when I was feeling hurt and vulnerable. It was not fair to him, to me, or to the man I love-- Patrick Jane. I regretted my actions immediately and I tried to repair the damage as quickly I could,” Lisbon responded. 

“At the time of this engagement, were you aware of Mr. Jane’s feelings for you?”

“No, I was not. I only found out when I was on board my flight to Washington DC,” Lisbon had a misty smile as she remembered his confession and she looked briefly at Jane before she turned to the jury and explained, “Patrick had been very careful for a long time because he thought that if anyone got close to him, something bad could happen. His wife and daughter had been murdered by a serial killer who later kidnapped me and taunted Patrick with that information. I was fine, but I think it had a profound effect on him. That night we had an argument about his behavior and his trying to manipulate me instead of being honest with me and I said I had had enough. He caught up with me just in time and told me he loved me and he wanted me to stay.” 

While an entire urban legend had developed over this story based on tales told by others on the plane, this was the first time that Teresa had told anyone about it. “I couldn’t believe it when he said that he couldn’t imagine waking up and not seeing me and that he loved me. There was a part of me that wanted to jump up and grab him and never left go, but I also knew that I had made a promise to Marcus, Agent Pike. So I let Patrick be escorted off the plane. When I looked out the window and saw them pushing him into the back of a squad car, I just knew I had to go to him. If he could finally admit his feelings, I couldn’t think of a good enough reason to leave.” 

Lisbon was in tears and every woman on the jury, as well as a number of women in the gallery. In fact, Nancy had tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat. “And did you really get off the plane and ‘make out’ -- as the defense put it -- with Mr. Jane?” 

Lisbon half laughed and half sniffled. “Um. Well, I did go to the room where he was being held, we talked, and he kissed me for the first time. However, there was a TSA guard watching and nothing went further that night.”

Nancy smiled and continued to repair the damage, “So you and Mr. Jane courted?” 

Lisbon smiled, “In a manner of speaking.” 

Nancy looked at Lisbon and said, “What was the song you sang to him that night at the club?” 

“‘You Do Something to Me’”

“Was this your chance to publicly declare yourself to him as he had done to you?”

Teresa smiled softly, “Yeah.” 

“Agent Lisbon, I’m sorry, but I have to ask this. Have you ever enjoyed bondage or being beaten?”

“No,” the word was firm. 

“Thank you, Agent Lisbon, that’s all.” Nancy sat down and gave Teresa an encouraging smile. 

“Re-cross, Mr. Murray?” The judge asked and Davey shook his head. How could he compete with her sob story? 

“Very well,” Judge Burr said and turned to Lisbon, “The witness is excused. This court will adjourn for the day. The defense may call its witnesses tomorrow beginning at 8:30 AM.” 

He gaveled and the bailiff called all to stand. Lisbon refused to even glance Davey’s way. Her eyes were only on Jane and as she reached him, he took her in his arms and held her close. 

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Leaving the courtroom, Abbott, Cho, Jane, Lisbon and Nancy Chambers agreed to dinner at a nearby cafe. Nancy was the only one not to order alcohol. She was the only one left who had to stand up in court tomorrow. 

“Well folks,” she announced, “Davey has not placed anyone on his witness list. I think we will be going straight to closing arguments in the morning.” 

Jane and Lisbon were sitting close together on the far side of the table. Since finishing eating, the only time Jane’s arm had been off the back of her chair had been to stroke her arm, shoulder, or hair. While rubbing circles over her back he responded to Nancy’s announcement. “Davey thinks he got what he wanted out of this trial. He thinks he publicly humiliated Teresa.” 

Teresa reached down and patted Jane’s leg, “He tried hard, but I think we weathered it.” 

“Yes we did, my love,” Jane said and reached over and place a brief gentle kiss to her hair. 

“In fact, I don’t think it worked at all,” Nancy said. “I’ve been reading jurors for a lot longer than Patrick Jane and I know when a juror is turned off by a defendant. No one in that room liked him. Tomorrow I’ll remind them of his confession, show them the evidence, and I predict that they’re back before noon.” 

Cho gave his slight smile and said, “Sounds good to me. I’ve had enough of this guy.” 

As the party broke up, Abbott and Cho opted to share a cab and Nancy gave Jane and Lisbon a lift back to their place. 

That night as they held each other in bed, Patrick told Teresa again how amazing and wonderful he thought she was. “I was in awe at how calm you seemed to be and how well you fought back. Davey was crazy to ever think he could bully you.” 

She turned slightly, kissed his shoulder, and said, “I’m just glad no one could see my legs shaking behind the box of the witness stand.” 

They were quiet for a while before she shifted and leaned over him. She looked into his eyes and said, “You know I couldn’t have made it through all this and all the other crap over the years without you, right?” 

He smoothed her hair back and said, “I’ve told you before. I don’t know that I would even be alive today if you hadn’t stuck by me all these years. You’re my rock, sweetheart.”

“I love you,” she whispered just before she kissed him long and slow with growing passion. He returned the kiss and groaned slightly when she broke it off but was thrilled when she proceeded to spread more kisses across his shoulders and neck. She began using her body to stroke his, and he encouraged her to give free rein to her desires. At last, she pressed down on him and looked deep in his eyes as they found climax together. She finally collapsed but he refused to let her go and slept with her on top of him for most of the night. 

The next morning, Nancy’s prediction was proved true and the case went to closing arguments. Nancy’s relied on facts and evidence. Davey’s was an almost incoherent rant against women. In fact, it was considered so bad that the men’s groups that had been assisting him, backed away and disavowed their support. 

Within thirty minutes, the jury returned with a verdict of guilty. As Davey was led away in handcuffs and shackles he tried to glare at Lisbon but she was too busy hugging people to even notice. 

That afternoon, Teresa spoke with Jan to see if she wanted to try and pursue her case against Davey. “I know you have no memory of what happened, but they did find a trace of your DNA in the basement and they can link the attack with mine.”

Jan was quiet for a moment before she shook her head and smiled, “I don’t need to do it. I talked to Nancy and she’s going after him for causing the death of the earlier victim and the rape of the two other women. That’s enough. I’m doing well with my therapy and I’m ready to move on.” 

Lisbon looked at her closely, “You’re sure? You’re not saying this out of fear?”

Jan shook her head, again, “No, Teresa, I’m okay. I’m dealing with my fears in therapy and I’m working my way through it all. In fact, my support network is growing. I’ve been out to lunch and dinner now with Wylie.”

Lisbon smile was big. “Really? Well, that’s terrific.” 

The two women embraced and went back to work. 

When Lisbon returned to the bullpen she found Jane talking with George Calhoun. She hadn’t seen him since the day the verdict was read in the courtroom. Calhoun had come and sat in the back for most of the trial but hadn’t spoken to anyone. 

Seeing her approach, Jane broke off and turned to her, “Lisbon, George came to wish us well and say goodbye.”

She frowned and turned to Calhoun, “Goodbye? Why?”

The older man looked more relaxed and comfortable than they had seen him since they had met. He seemed to be at peace. “I’ve sold the club to that guy that Mike brought in one night.” 

Lisbon was surprised. “Really? Why? I thought you always wanted to own a nightclub.” 

Calhoun smiled and shook his head. “I thought I did, too, but after Helen died-- I just seemed to lose my way.”

It was silently agreed that no one would mention the blackmail. If Calhoun was having a change of heart, the blackmail was probably ending, too. 

Calhoun shrugged, “Anyway, I’ve decided to go back east and putter around for a while. Maybe I’ll start playing again. Who knows?”

Lisbon reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, “Well, wherever you decide to go next, we wish you the best.”

He smiled back at her before he turned more serious, “Thank you. I’m just sorry that I was so consumed with my own problems that I didn’t take the time to care about what was going on around me. I don’t know, maybe I would have asked more questions. To think of all the women who were hurt while visiting my club and the drugs…” 

Jane who knew what huge guilt trips were all about hated to see the guy take on more, “The problems have been fixed and none of it was your fault.”

They parted ways with him and pointed him to Abbott’s office. He wanted to say one last goodbye before he gassed up the car and headed out of town. 

A few days later, Teresa woke up to the smells of coffee and toast. She quickly showered, dressed, and headed for the kitchen where she found Patrick sitting at the breakfast bar having his tea and reading the newspaper. The scene was so familiar and right that she found her eyes starting to grow misty. However, this was a time of peace and joy so she blinked quickly before quietly walking up behind him and slipping her arms around him. He leaned back into her embrace and chuckled when he felt her nibbling gently at his ear. 

“You do seem to develop quite an appetite, my dear. Is there anything I can offer you this morning?” He teased, grateful that she was behind him and couldn’t see how he, too, was moved by their routine pattern. 

“What’s a girl do when there are so-o-o many delicious and tempting items on display?” She returned his teasing. 

He turned around and gave her a strong hug and breathed in the smell of her shampoo. “God, I’ve missed you and our life.” 

After one last squeeze she leaned back and looked at him. Staring into his eyes, she said, “You and our life together are my greatest strengths and they will always help me fight to come home.” 

Teresa had a quick cup of coffee and filled a travel mug with a second cup while Patrick had a second cup of tea and finished the crossword puzzle before they drove to the office. 

Abbott was standing with Cho and Wylie discussing paperwork as the elevator doors opened. 

“--but it wasn’t! It was a long cut!” Lisbon was complaining. 

“Not true. It was a shortcut,” Jane countered. 

“A shortcut saves time. That didn’t save time,” she insisted. 

“It wasn’t about time. It was about distance,” he explained. 

“No, it was about time,” she responded.

“The key was--” he stopped.

The debaters noticed Cho, Wylie, and Abbott staring at them and simultaneously said, “What?” 

Cho shook his head and turned away. Wylie rolled his eyes and walked back to his desk as Abbott looked at the couple and laughed. “Nothing. Just business as usual.” 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the readers: Thank you for staying to the conclusion.


End file.
